Church & Dwight Sues Colgate Over Toothbrush Packaging Patent

Church & Dwight Inc. (CHD) is suing Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) for patent infringement on packaging that allows customers to turn on battery-powered toothbrushes before purchasing.

Church & Dwight, in a lawsuit filed Feb. 23 in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, alleges that Colgate has incorporated features of Church & Dwight's patents to package its own electric toothbrushes without authorization.

The packaging features a "try me" button that allows customer to momentarily turn on the motor of the battery-powered toothbrushes at the point-of-purchase. Recesses in the plastic package prevent the switch from being set to continuously on to prevent the battery from draining. Church & Dwight uses the packaging for several of its Arm & Hammer-branded battery-powered toothbrushes.

Church & Dwight is seeking an injunction preventing Colgate from infringing on the patents and unspecified damages in a jury trial.

Representatives from Church & Dwight and Colgate weren't immediately available for comment.

Colgate shares were up 0.3% in recent trading at $78.34, while Church & Dwight shares were up 1.1% at $75.43.

-By Paul Ziobro, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2194; paul.ziobro@dowjones.com

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