Michael Todd Beauty, maker of the Sonicsmooth sonic dermaplaning device, reports that it has been sued by Dermaflash maker DD Karma.

In a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed in Wilmington, DD Karma alleges that the Michael Todd device infringes upon its design patent on the appearance of the Dermaflash product. The suit also alleges that Michael Todd has engaged in unfair competition, false designation and trademark infringement. The legal action comes as dermaplaning tools are heating up on home-television networks and at retailers.

According to Michael Todd President and Co-founder Lewis Hendler, who is also an attorney, "The DD Karma lawsuit has no merit as anyone can tell just by looking at the products. The name and design appearance of our Sonicsmooth device is completely different than the plaintiff's product."

"We've encountered this before," said Hendler, "where companies respond to competition with a lawsuit rather than simply compete and let the marketplace decide which product is the better offering." In this case, "the plaintiff is just looking to push out a rival, which is not going to happen. It's been tried before and failed, and will fail here as well." according to Hendler.

Michael Friend, senior vice president of sales and co-founder of the brand, comments, "Michael Todd Beauty takes great care to respect the valid intellectual property rights of others. But we will not be pushed around and plan to take appropriate steps to defend against this lawsuit which we consider frivolous.” 

This is not the first time the brand has been in court this year - In January, WWD reported the brand was sued by Worth Beauty, maker of the automated beauty brush, BlendSmart.