Energizer Holdings, Inc., the maker of the Schick Quattro, filed a patent infringement lawsuit last week against the Gillette Co., ratcheting up a battle between the two largest makers of wet shave products.
The suit claims that Gillette’s Mach3, Mach3Turbo and its women’s Venus brands infringe three Schick patents, Energizer said.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, seeks monetary damages and an injunction against further infringement.
“Schick has an extensive worldwide portfolio of patents in the shaving field resulting from significant investment of resources to develop innovative shaving products,” Joseph Lynch, president of Schick-Wilkinson Sword, said in a statement. “Our patents are valuable assets and Schick will continue to protect them from all forms of infringement.”
Gillette denied the charges through a spokesperson.
Last August, Gillette filed a patent infringement lawsuit against St. Louis-based Energizer, just hours after Schick announced that it planned to introduce a new four-bladed razor in September. The suit claimed that the Schick Quattro razor illegally incorporated blade technology of the three-bladed Mach3 system in the Schick product. Last month, a federal judge declined to issue a preliminary injunction to halt sales.
Schick is second to Boston-based Gillette in the world’s shaving system market.
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