A former Catholic monk has filed a lawsuit against L’Oréal, claiming that the company stole his patented formula for an anti-aging cream.
In 2009 the University of Massachusetts Medical School developed a technology that uses adenosine, a chemical compound found in the heart, to make skin more elastic. The school then licensed the technology to Carmel Laboratories LLC, which is run by the former monk Dennis Wyrzykowski.
But the creams weren’t just being sold to reduce wrinkles (which some may consider to be an act of monastic goodwill, sure!) The proceeds were also going directly to Wyrzykowski’s charity, the Teresian Carmelites. They were selling the patented cream online for $65 a tube to raise money for the Carmelites’ work with drug addicts, prisoners, and children.
L’Oréal, according to the lawsuit, knew that Wyrzykowski had this patent but made products containing adenosine anyway. The lawsuit comes after L’Oréal was sued by women who claim their relaxers made them bald. And just this year a former employee filed a lawsuit claiming L’Oréal fired him because he wouldn’t file “frivolous or unfounded” new patent applications to meet a company quota.
Wyrzykowski ultimately alleges that L’Oréal “pillaged the poor” and he lost profits because of L’Oréal’s products. So, basically, L’Oréal is going to hell.
