P&G claims "eggs"clusive rights to "shell image" in toothpaste ads suit v. Colgate.
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
COLGATE COPYING P&G TRADEMARK VISUAL IN "PREEMPTIVE" ADS, P&G ALLEGES in a copyright infringement suit filed Dec. 4 in Manhattan federal court. "In anticipation of Procter & Gamble's entry into the toothpaste marketplace in China, Colgate began airing advertising for its Colgate toothpaste that strikingly replicated each of the key executional elements of Procter & Gamble's copyrighted shell visual" used to advertise P&G's Crest, Blend-A-Med, Profiden and Ipana toothpastes worldwide, P&G's complaint states. P&G is suing Colgate and its ad agency, Young & Rubicam, for monetary damages and injunctive relief.