The company demands that Johnson & Johnson and Chattem withdraw trademark applications for their Total products, which include Johnson & Johnson's Listerine Total Care line of products and Chattem's Act Total Care mouthwash.
Colgate's Total toothpaste is the leading U.S. toothpaste, generating more than $3 billion in sales since its launch in 1997, and is among the company's "crown jewels," both lawsuits said.
In the case of Johnson & Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive said it had entered into a "joint promotion and collaboration agreement" with Pfizer Consumer Health Care Division, which owns the Listerine mouthwash brand, prior to Johnson & Johnson's acquisition of Pfizer in 2006.
"The parties ... wanted to create a link in the minds of consumers between Total (the No. 1 toothpaste brand) and Listerine (the No. 1 mouthwash brand) in order to jointly build goodwill and increase the sales of both party's products," the lawsuit said.
But after Johnson & Johnson acquired Listerine, the company launched Total Care mouthwash without the consent of involvement of Colgate-Palmolive, the lawsuit said.
The Listerine Total Care line of products "are likely to cause confusion with and dilute Colgate Palmolive's famous Total marks," said the lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Johnson & Johnson and McNeil-PPC Inc "recognized the significant value of Colgate-Palmolive's Total brands and decided to appropriate the value for themselves," the lawsuit said.
In the case of Chattem, its Act Total Care mouthwash also trades off "the unique concept and goodwill of Total, said the lawsuit against Chattem Inc and Signal Investment and Management.