P&G, McLane Settle Infringement Case

Procter & Gamble Co. and a Texas-based company it sued said they have settled the case in which P&G charged that packaging of some of its consumer products was being copied illegally. McLane Co. and its subsidiaries denied P&G’s allegations, but agreed to immediately redesign the packaging of their products. Other terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. P&G sued McLane Co., asking that four products be removed from retail shelves. The suit also sought other unspecified damages. The lawsuit said P&G spent money marketing its products, and that the rival products confused consumers. “Our objective was to put an end to what we view as infringement of our package designs,” Jim Johnson, P&G’s chief legal officer, said in a statement. Bill Fendrick, vice president of merchandising for McLane’s grocery distribution division, said McLane was pleased to settle the case. “As one of America’s largest distributors of consumer goods, we value our longstanding relationship with P&G, America’s largest consumer goods company and one of our largest suppliers,” he said.