Nestlé Skin Health has face injection infringement claims thrown out

Nestlé Skin Health (NSH) will not face claims that it misappropriated trade secrets related to a training platform for teaching medical professionals how to perform facial injections, a US court has ruled.

NSH was formed in 2014 as a joint venture owned by Swiss company Nestlé and French cosmetics brand L’Oreal. US-based skincare products manufacturer Galderma was a wholly owned subsidiary of NSH, which was sold off by Nestlé this year.

NSH has now rebranded under the Galderma name, and operates independently from Nestlé.

Delaware company Truinject sued NSH and Galderma at the US District Court for the Central District of California in 2018.

The case was subsequently transferred to the US District Court for the District of Delaware earlier this year at Galderma’s request.

Truinject said that Galderma, then a NSH subsidiary, engaged in discussions with Truinject about a potential business deal.

The discussions related to Truinject’s proprietary technology for teaching medical professionals the proper technique of injecting neurotoxins such as Botox, as well as dermal fillers, into the face.

Truinject’s platform includes lifelike models of the human head, a syringe, and a computer interface which lets the user track the location of the syringe needle.

According to Truinject, Galderma only engaged in these discussions in order to obtain access to its trade secrets. A deal was not reached, and Truinject signed a series of confidential disclosure agreements (CDAs) with the company.

Galderma parent company NSH then produced its own rival product to Truinject’s platform, which the Delaware company says infringes three patents.

NSH has now succeeded in shaking off the claims, on the grounds that the US District Court for the District of Delaware does not have personal jurisdiction over it.

According to the court, NSH is not bound by the CDAs as Galderma did not have the authority to sign them on its behalf.

Truinject argued that NSH had benefited from the discussions as its CFO, Pierre Streit, attended some of the 2016 meetings between Truinject and Galderma, and learned confidential information about Truinject’s business.

The court, however, said that “any benefit NSH gained by having its CFO review confidential information relating to a business transaction for one of its subsidiaries is, at best, indirect”.

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