Procter & Gamble Sues German Private Label Soapmaker for Copycat Design

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July 12, 2011

Procter & Gamble filed a lawsuit against Luhns GmbH, a German private label manufacturer and distributor of hand dish washing liquids for trademark and design infringements.

Filed in the District Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, the lawsuit alleges that Luhns GmbH violates P&G's intellectual property by manufacturing and selling certain Magnum private label hand dish washing detergents to a retailer in the U.K. and Northern Ireland.

P&G alleges that Luhns's dish detergent products –– specifically the bottle shape and its overall product appearance –– infringe the company’s European Community Design Rights relating to its FAIRY hand dish washing liquids.

“Luhns's use of P&G's intellectual property without P&G's consent is prohibited by law, and can cause consumer confusion,” P&G said in a statement. “P&G takes pride in developing FAIRY products that deliver the highest level of quality for consumers who have trusted the brand's performance for over 50 years,” the company said, noting that FAIRY is the U.K. market leader in hand dish washing “and takes great pride in its long standing relationship with consumers.”

P&G added that, while it welcomes competition in the marketplace, it wants to ensure “consumers are not in any way misled” by competitive brands.

"P&G has made significant investments in the innovations behind our FAIRY Hand Dish Washing liquids. We take the intellectual property rights protecting these innovations very seriously," said Deborah P. Majoras, chief legal officer of P&G. “By filing a lawsuit against Luhns we are taking steps to protect this investment, ensuring that consumers are not being confused."

The lawsuit seeks to stop Luhns from violating P&G's intellectual property and selling the infringing products.

P&G has 127,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide.

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