P&G Sues Cao

In a lawsuit filed Monday in the Southern District of Ohio, Procter & Gamble charged that CAO Group is violating P&G's intellectual property by manufacturing and selling its “Sheer White,” “Sheer FluorX,” and “Sheer DesenZ” products. P&G is suing CAO Group in order to protect its investment in its technology and its Crest Whitestrips business.

P&G's at-home whitening product, Crest Whitestrips, debuted in 2001, and has had a steady stream of innovations on its product over the past decade. According to P*&G, Crest 3D White Whitestrips offer great consumer benefits, such as Crest 3D White's most advanced adhesion technology, to deliver an enhanced tooth whitening experience with no slip and no mess. Formulated with the same enamel-safe whitening ingredient dentists use, these teeth whitening systems remove set in stains below the enamel surface. The oral care technology used in Crest 3D White Whitestrips is a competitive advantage to P&G in the marketplace and P&G intends to protect its investment in the product.

“P&G has made significant investments in the innovations behind our Crest Whitestrips products. We treat infringements of our intellectual property rights protecting these innovations very seriously,” said Deborah P. Majoras, chief legal officer of P&G. “By filing a lawsuit against CAO Group, we are taking steps to protect this investment and our business.”