P&G filed a patent infringement complaint and motion for preliminary injunction alleging that store brand manufacturer Ranir LLC infringed its tooth-whitening technology used in Crest Whitestrips.

The complaint filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on March 20 alleges Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Ranir violated P&G patents with tooth whitening strips that are packaged for sale under store brands including lines marketed by Walmart and Kroger. Introduced in in 2001, Whitestrips “revolutionized the tooth whitening industry, resulting in annual sales in excess of $250 million,” the complaint states.

P&G prevailed in other Whitestrips patent infringement lawsuits over the past decade, including litigation filed in the same court in 2014 against private label firms Clio USA, Team Technologies Inc. and Brushpoint Innovations Inc., which agreed to discontinue marketing the products. (Also see "P&G Crest Whitestrips Patents Stand Up To ‘Indefiniteness’ Challenge" - HBW Insight, 1 October, 2014.)

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