Trial delayed in P&G's teeth-whitening patent claim

A federal judge has indefinitely delayed a trial involving Procter & Gamble's (P&G) claims that CLIO USA, a smaller rival in the teeth-whitening market, infringes its patents for whitening strips.

Judge Timothy S. Black of the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio last week postponed the trial date, which was scheduled for August 4, according to a CLIO press release.

A decision from a parallel case before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) for an Inter Parties Review in which CLIO is challenging the validity of P&G's patents is expected in September. Earlier this year, the PTAB ruled that there is a "reasonable likelihood" that CLIO would prevail in its case.

CLIO executives expressed support for the judge's decision and said they were also confident in the strength of the case the company has before the PTAB.

"We have said all along that P&G's bullying tactics are not only bad for business, but they are rooted in baseless claims," said Peter Cho, vice president of CLIO, an Englewood Cliffs, NJ-based company whose whitening strips sell for as much as $20 less than P&G's Crest 3D White strips.

"By attacking a small company like CLIO, which controls less than 3% of the market, P&G opened up a Pandora's box of outcomes, including the invalidation of patents it claims to own," he continued. "While anticipated all along, it is encouraging to see P&G's strategy boomerang.''

The judge's decision marks a setback for P&G in a case that could reshape the $386.6 million teeth-whitening industry.

Johnson & Johnson discontinued its Listerine Whitening Quick Dissolving Strips as part of a 2008 settlement with P&G, according to a businessweek.com story.

Another P&G case is pending against CAO Group, which supplies a product called Sheer White to dentists' offices. CAO is challenging P&G's patent infringement allegations, claiming that its teeth-whitening film is the result of its own research, the story noted.