P&G Files Lawsuit Against Mouthwash Manufacturer Vi-Jon, Inc.

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May 27, 2011, 01:48 ET

CINCINNATI, May 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) filed today a lawsuit against Vi-Jon, Inc., a private-label manufacturer and distributor of mouthwash, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The lawsuit alleges that Vi-Jon, Inc. is violating P&G's intellectual property by manufacturing and selling its private label mouthwash product to retailers.

Vi-Jon's mouthwash product, specifically the bottle and label shape, infringe P&G's design patents, trade dress, trademarks and copyright relating to its Scope Outlast mouthwash. Vi-Jon's use of P&G's intellectual property without P&G's consent is prohibited by law, and can cause consumer confusion. P&G is suing Vi-Jon in order to protect its business and to prevent consumer confusion in the marketplace.

P&G's Scope Outlast mouthwash offers great consumer benefits, such as killing 99% of bad-breath germs, and leaving breath feeling fresh up to five times longer than brushing alone, due to the proprietary Outlast technology. Along with the new Outlast technology, P&G's Scope Outlast product was launched in a new bottle design as P&G set out to improve on the existing Scope product. The Outlast technology innovation and new bottle design provide competitive advantages to P&G in the marketplace and P&G intends to protect its investment in the product.

"Scope has invested in significant R&D to bring this product to market, and we take very seriously issues related to our intellectual property and competitive advantage," said Charlie Pierce, Group President, P&G Oral Care. "Vi-Jon is using and benefitting from our intellectual property, which we developed and promoted at great cost. We're taking this action to prevent consumers from being misled and to protect our business."

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

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SOURCE Procter & Gamble