CINCINNATI, Aug. 27, 2007 LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire — The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) has filed a patent lawsuit against Kraft Foods Inc., manufacturer of the Maxwell House Coffee brand.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, alleges that the new plastic container for Maxwell House coffee, now being introduced throughout the U.S., directly infringes key Procter & Gamble patents on Folgers Coffee.
In 2003, P&G introduced Folgers Coffee in a consumer-preferred plastic container. This innovation has grown the Folgers business for the past four years.
“We made large investments to overcome the technical challenges in
making a lightweight plastic container that can withstand the pressure
changes that occur between the factory and the consumer’s home,” said Jim
Johnson, P&G chief legal officer. “Many innovations in this container are
covered by P&G patents, which we believe Maxwell House has infringed. We
must protect our intellectual property,” he said.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Kraft Foods from selling the infringing
Maxwell House Coffee package. It also seeks recovery of damages.
About Procter & Gamble
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), 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 over 135,000
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.
