Online Resale of Expired Cosmetics May Be Trademark Infringement–Mary Kay v. Weber
3 03 2009By Eric Goldman
Mary Kay, Inc. v. Weber, 2009 WL 426470 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 20, 2009). The Justia page.
Amy Weber is a former Mary Kay Cosmetics independent salesperson (in Mary Kay-speak, “Independent Beauty Consultant,” or “IBC”). To retain her IBC status, she was required to buy 0/mo of cosmetics. It sounds like Weber wasn’t able to move this much product through traditional Mary Kay sales techniques, so she ultimately lost her IBC status. Meanwhile, apparently stuck with an inventory of unsold goods, Weber started reselling the cosmetics on eBay. Over time, she started buying cheap Mary Kay products on eBay from other folks and flipping them on eBay for more. Eventually she started an e-commerce website, initially called “marykay1stop” but later renamed “touchofpink.com.” It sounds like the venture became quite successful.
Not surprisingly, Mary Kay wasn’t pleased with the channel conflict that the defendants were causing.
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