12.27.05
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris refused to dismiss a Gillette Co. patent-infringement lawsuit, which seeks to stop St. Louis, MO-based Energizer Holdings Inc.'s Schick unit from selling the Quattro, a four-bladed razor.
Gillette claims the Quattro infringes its patent for multibladed razors, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The patent covers the Gillette's best-selling Mach3 product line, which has three blades.
Judge Saris rejected Schick's argument that the Gillette patent only covers three blades, not four. She didnt grant Schick's request for a ruling that there was no infringement of the patent.
Gillette didn't request an immediate ruling of the infringement, so the case will proceed toward a trial.
Judge Saris also denied a request by Milford, CT-based Schicks to reconsider part of her ruling dealing with interpretation of a claim in the patent.
The judge ruled last year that the patent was limited to three blades. Her ruling was overturned by a U.S. appeals court and the case was sent back for her to review.
Gillette and Schick have been fighting in court since Schick introduced the Quattro in 2003. Saris refused to block sales of the Quattro while the dispute was being resolved.