Colgate Sues Procter & Gamble: Colgate-Palmolive Co....

Colgate Sues Procter & Gamble: Colgate-Palmolive Co. filed a patent-infringement lawsuit to stop Procter & Gamble Co. from selling dishwashing liquid in a bottle that Colgate contends is shaped like a patented Palmolive soap bottle. Colgate has been selling the green Palmolive in a patented 42-ounce bottle since 1993 and plans to sell concentrated Palmolive in a smaller version of the bottle in February, New York-based Colgate said in the suit. Procter & Gamble will start selling its own Dawn, Ivory and Joy soaps in an identical bottle design around Aug. 22, Colgate alleged in a suit filed this week in federal court in New York. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble said the suit is without merit and that key features of its bottle design have been in use for years. Colgate is seeking a court order to stop Procter & Gamble from using the disputed bottle design.