Avon Products Inc. is a multinational company that sells cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and personal care products. Founded in 1886 by David H. McConnell in New York, the company pioneered a direct-selling model, empowering women as independent sales representatives. In January 2020, Avon was acquired by the Brazilian multinational company Natura &Co, creating the world's fourth-largest "pure-play" beauty group. Following the acquisition, Avon became a private company. The combined group was expected to have annual gross revenues of over $10 billion and more than 40,000 employees globally.
Avon operates as a multi-level marketing company, with millions of representatives selling its products directly to consumers in over 100 countries. Its major product lines include makeup, skincare, fragrance, and personal care items. Well-known brand names under the Avon umbrella include Anew, Skin So Soft, Far Away, and Avon Color. The company is a significant global player in the beauty industry, holding numerous patents for its product formulations and technology.
Based on the provided data, Avon Products is an operating company that has been a defendant in patent litigation. The single tracked case shows the company as one of several defendants in a suit filed by Sampo IP, LLC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue known for attracting patent litigation. This defendant-only posture is typical of an operating company facing assertions from a non-practicing entity (NPE).
The case, Sampo IP, LLC v. ETrade Financial Corporate Services Inc. et al.*, was filed in 2013. The plaintiff, Sampo IP, LLC, was a subsidiary of Marathon Patent Group, a patent licensing and assertion company. The lawsuit alleged that Avon and other co-defendants infringed on three patents related to a "Centrifugal Communication and Collaboration Method" through their use of certain communication systems. This type of multi-defendant litigation targeting internal business systems is a common tactic for patent assertion entities.