The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) and Tambrands, Inc., a wholly
owned subsidiary, has filed a lawsuit for trademark and trade dress
infringement and unfair competition against First Quality Hygienics, a
private label manufacturer. The lawsuit, filed in US Federal District
Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges that First Quality
Hygienics infringes on the registered trademarks and packaging trade
dress of P&G's Tampax Pearl(R) tampons. The First Quality Hygienics
tampon is sold in retail stores in Canada under the name Life Brand.
P&G claims the defendant, without authorization, is manufacturing and
distributing products in packages that copy the famous Tampax Pearl
packaging, including the distinctive string-of-pearls design. The
company has marketed the Tampax Pearl brand for over three years and it
has garnered substantial goodwill among consumers.
"We took this action to protect both the interests of our consumers and
our business," said Patricia Perez-Ayala, general manager North America
Feminine Care for P&G. "Women across North America trust Tampax Pearl.
The use of our trademarks or trade dress by other manufacturers confuses
and misleads these consumers and that cannot be tolerated."
P&G has a history of protecting its intellectual property, including
trade dress, trademarks and patents. "P&G's products are associated with
high quality and we believe this is a case of clear infringement,
designed to feed on the goodwill of our brands," said Jim Johnson, P&G
chief legal officer. "Copying our product designs violates the law and
we are filing this lawsuit to stop it."
About Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around
the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted,
quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R),
Always(R), Whisper(R), Tampax(R), Pantene(R), Mach3(R), Bounty(R),
Dawn(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R),
Iams(R), Crest(R), Oral-B(R), Actonel(R), Duracell(R), Olay(R), Head &
Shoulders(R), Wella, Gillette(R), and Braun. The P&G community consists
of almost 140,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide.
Please visit http://www.pg.com
for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
