News

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has filed a lawsuit in the US, claiming toiletries producer Fruit of the Earth infringed on its packaging patent for Olay Regenerist.

P&G today (13 December) submitted three patent infringement claims, as well as a trade dress infringement, against the firm in a Federal District Court in Cincinnati.

The company claimed the "lookalike products", sold at CVS Pharmacy stores in the US, could cause confusion for customers and "trade on the goodwill" established by the Olay Regenerist brand.

P&G chief legal officer Jim Johnson said the firm was asking the court to stop the distribution of the Fruit of the Earth line.

P&G has asked Fruit of the Earth to stop distributing the products and to notify retailers to impound or return all products.

"We must protect the intellectual property of P&G brands," added Johnson.

In August, Packaging News reported that P&G had started legal proceedings in the US against Kraft Foods, the manufacturer of Maxwell House coffee, for allegedly infringing patents for its Folgers Coffee.