Procter & Gamble files infringement lawsuit against Blue Cross Labs

The Procter & Gamble has filed a lawsuit against Blue Cross Laboratories of Santa Clarita, California, for the infringement of its Herbal Essences trade dress.

The suit, filed in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati involves the company's Herbal Essences brand trade dress, which includes the unique shape of the Herbal Essences bottles for shampoos and conditioners.

P&G claims private labeller, Blue Cross Laboratories is distributing look-alike Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner products under the name Herbal Passion to dollar store outlets infringing the Herbal Essences trade dress.

Procter & Gamble is asking that Blue Cross Laboratories be ordered to stop distributing the infringing products, recall the existing inventory from store shelves, notify retailers to impound or return all products and destroy the bottle moulds.

Procter & Gamble introduced the award winning Herbal Essences packaging with the relaunch of the brand in 2006. P&G believes that Blue Cross Laboratories is selling products in packages that copy the well known Herbal Essences packaging to capitalize on the brand's success and consumer loyalty. The unauthorized use of P&G's trade dress is likely to cause confusion and could jeopardize the goodwill Herbal Essences has established among its consumers.

"We believe this is a clear case of infringement designed to take advantage of consumer loyalty and business growth that P&G developed through the reinvention of its Herbal Essences brand," said Jim Johnson, P&G chief legal officer. "This is a serious case of trade dress infringement, and we are asking the court to stop the distribution of these products to protect the equity and intellectual property of the Herbal Essences brand."