Minx and The Law

There is a really interesting debate going on at the Minx Facebook page, where Minx have posted their intent to pursue a possible copyright infringement by SheeKee LLC, a competitor in the field of nail enhancements. Now, Minx have been granted patents covering application and technology in the sector, but it’s plain to see that any number of nail coating competitors are hard at it trying to get on the Minx bandwagon. It was only a matter of time before Minx were forced to take action. Janice Jordan, inventor (and self-named Master Minx.. *cough*) says, “For years we have worked very hard to develop the technology behind Minx’s products and to protect our intellectual property. Now, our products and technology are being copied and knocked off all over the world.” Yes, indeed. They are. But with the big-guns such as OPI and Sally Hansen bringing out Minxy-style nail coverings, I’m not sure whether the battle is already lost, because you need deep, deep pockets to take on those giants.

What is really fascinating to me is the raging debate – while some FB commenters are behind Minx, others are accusing them of bullying smaller brands and nail technicians. In my view, nail technicians shouldn’t really be involved in law suits where they had no prior knowledge that they were infringeing patent laws. However, a couple of commentors point out that Minx began as a salon only application and once they’d gone into Sephora making their nail coverings available to all, they took the exclusivity out of their own brand. Others rail that copying original talent is cheap.

Some say that SheeKee was invented before Minx but whatever the truth, this one is going to run and run.