L’Oreal, famous manufacturers of cosmetics, skincare, hair color and haircare, is being sued by its former head patent lawyer Steven Trzaska, which he alleges fired him because he refused to file applications that were not patentable.
Lawyer, Trzaska, believes that he was forced by his superiors at L’Oreal to meet a quota of 40 filed patent applications in 2014. He alleges, however, that many of the applications were cosmetic and of poor quality. Trzaska claims that he told his employer that he would not file applications that the attorneys believed to be non-patentable.
Trzaska declared that him being fired violates New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act (CEPA). He is also citing the Rules of Professional Conduct of the US Patent and Trademark Office in his lawsuit. CEPA halts employers from taking retaliatory action where the employee believes an activity contravenes a law or regulation, while the rules of conduct exist to prevent frivolous proceedings.
