Post by Big L on Dec 20, 2015 8:00:42 GMT -5
Evil scumbags, their stadium sponsored by these fucks.
Can't beat 'em, sue 'em.
Gillette sues Dollar Shave Club over Patent Infringement
www.wsj.com/articles/p-gs-gillette-sues-dollar-shave-club-1450371180
Can't beat 'em, sue 'em.
Gillette sues Dollar Shave Club over Patent Infringement
www.wsj.com/articles/p-gs-gillette-sues-dollar-shave-club-1450371180
By PAUL ZIOBRO and ANNE STEELE
Updated Dec. 17, 2015 7:11 p.m. ET
49 COMMENTS
The razor wars are headed to court.
Gillette filed a patent lawsuit Thursday against Dollar Shave Club Inc., an online subscription service that in just three years has chipped away at Gillette’s dominance to grab 8% of the $3 billion U.S. market for razors and blades.
The civil suit, filed in Delaware by the Procter & Gamble Co. unit, asks the U.S. District Court to stop its rival from selling razors that infringe one of Gillette’s hundreds of patents.
In a lawsuit against Dollar Shave Club, Gillette is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of products infringing patented technology.
The seven-page lawsuit says Dollar Shave Club’s blades infringe on a patent, issued in 2004, that involves two coatings used to strengthen the edge of a blade and protect it from wear. Gillette uses the coatings on its Mach 3, Venus and Fusion products, among others.
P&G spokesman Damon Jones said the company routinely tests competitor’s products and had “reason to believe” that Dollar Shave Club was making changes to its products. It evaluated the blades, and discovered the alleged infringement, Mr. Jones said. A spokeswoman for Dollar Shave Club declined to comment.
The suit comes after 120-year-old Gillette was slow to respond to the rise of online rivals. Gillette, which controls more than 60% of the U.S. retail market, only has 20% of the online shaving market. It launched its own subscription service last year called Gillette Shave Club.
P&G won’t disclose how many subscribers its shave club has, but since its June relaunch, Gillette’s e-commerce share of blade and razors has increased four percentage points, the company said last month.
P&G occasionally has turned to the courts to battle competitors. In 2014, it sued a small toothpaste manufacturer, Hello Products LLC, for saying their toothpaste was 99% natural on its package. P&G also has defended its Crest Whitestrips teeth-whitening product from a private-label manufacturer.
“We take every violation of our intellectual property seriously, and when necessary, we take legal action to defend our business as we have in the past and will continue to do in the future,” P&G spokesman Mr. Jones said.
Dollar Shave Club burst onto the scene in 2012 with a provocative video starring company founder Michael Dubin, where he deadpanned, “Our blades are f— great.”
The company offered to send razor cartridges directly to customers for as little as $1 a month, a model that appealed to the changing shopping habits of consumers fed up with the rising cost of a clean shave.
The company now claims to have 10 million customers who pay between $1 and $9 for its blades at least every other month.
In June, Mr. Dubin said the company was on track this year to generate $140 million in sales, which includes other personal care products such as shaving cream and flushable wipes.
Dollar Shave Club has attracted more than $90 million in venture funding, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. Its latest round valued the company at $630 million. P&G has a market value of $220 billion.
Gillette’s subscription service takes a different approach to Dollar Shave’s, which tries to get customers into the habit of changing their blades weekly. P&G says that men can spend about $5 a month for its priciest razorblades.
The claim relies on the durability of Gillette blades and the fact that they can last a month for men who shave an average of three to four times a week.
In its suit, Gillette says Dollar Shave Club’s razors violate its patent using of the chemical element chromium to adhere to an outer layer of a compound called polytetrafluoroethylene on its blades.
Dollar Shave Club buys its blades from Dorco, the U.S. arm of a South Korean razor manufacturer, which also makes private-label razors for retailers such as Walgreens and Dollar General Corp.
Gillette’s suit doesn’t mention the supplier. Dorco representatives weren’t immediately available for comment.
While razor makers have for years fought about how many blades they can fit onto a cartridge, Gillette’s newest cartridge, the Fusion ProShield, will instead feature a new lubricating strip.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@ws
Updated Dec. 17, 2015 7:11 p.m. ET
49 COMMENTS
The razor wars are headed to court.
Gillette filed a patent lawsuit Thursday against Dollar Shave Club Inc., an online subscription service that in just three years has chipped away at Gillette’s dominance to grab 8% of the $3 billion U.S. market for razors and blades.
The civil suit, filed in Delaware by the Procter & Gamble Co. unit, asks the U.S. District Court to stop its rival from selling razors that infringe one of Gillette’s hundreds of patents.
In a lawsuit against Dollar Shave Club, Gillette is seeking an injunction to prevent the sale of products infringing patented technology.
The seven-page lawsuit says Dollar Shave Club’s blades infringe on a patent, issued in 2004, that involves two coatings used to strengthen the edge of a blade and protect it from wear. Gillette uses the coatings on its Mach 3, Venus and Fusion products, among others.
P&G spokesman Damon Jones said the company routinely tests competitor’s products and had “reason to believe” that Dollar Shave Club was making changes to its products. It evaluated the blades, and discovered the alleged infringement, Mr. Jones said. A spokeswoman for Dollar Shave Club declined to comment.
The suit comes after 120-year-old Gillette was slow to respond to the rise of online rivals. Gillette, which controls more than 60% of the U.S. retail market, only has 20% of the online shaving market. It launched its own subscription service last year called Gillette Shave Club.
P&G won’t disclose how many subscribers its shave club has, but since its June relaunch, Gillette’s e-commerce share of blade and razors has increased four percentage points, the company said last month.
P&G occasionally has turned to the courts to battle competitors. In 2014, it sued a small toothpaste manufacturer, Hello Products LLC, for saying their toothpaste was 99% natural on its package. P&G also has defended its Crest Whitestrips teeth-whitening product from a private-label manufacturer.
“We take every violation of our intellectual property seriously, and when necessary, we take legal action to defend our business as we have in the past and will continue to do in the future,” P&G spokesman Mr. Jones said.
Dollar Shave Club burst onto the scene in 2012 with a provocative video starring company founder Michael Dubin, where he deadpanned, “Our blades are f— great.”
The company offered to send razor cartridges directly to customers for as little as $1 a month, a model that appealed to the changing shopping habits of consumers fed up with the rising cost of a clean shave.
The company now claims to have 10 million customers who pay between $1 and $9 for its blades at least every other month.
In June, Mr. Dubin said the company was on track this year to generate $140 million in sales, which includes other personal care products such as shaving cream and flushable wipes.
Dollar Shave Club has attracted more than $90 million in venture funding, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. Its latest round valued the company at $630 million. P&G has a market value of $220 billion.
Gillette’s subscription service takes a different approach to Dollar Shave’s, which tries to get customers into the habit of changing their blades weekly. P&G says that men can spend about $5 a month for its priciest razorblades.
The claim relies on the durability of Gillette blades and the fact that they can last a month for men who shave an average of three to four times a week.
In its suit, Gillette says Dollar Shave Club’s razors violate its patent using of the chemical element chromium to adhere to an outer layer of a compound called polytetrafluoroethylene on its blades.
Dollar Shave Club buys its blades from Dorco, the U.S. arm of a South Korean razor manufacturer, which also makes private-label razors for retailers such as Walgreens and Dollar General Corp.
Gillette’s suit doesn’t mention the supplier. Dorco representatives weren’t immediately available for comment.
While razor makers have for years fought about how many blades they can fit onto a cartridge, Gillette’s newest cartridge, the Fusion ProShield, will instead feature a new lubricating strip.
Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@ws
