The lawsuit was filed in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts and states that four former Gillette employees were subsequently hired by Dallas-based competitor ShaveLogic, where they shared the Gillette trade secrets.
The news is likely to have a significant impact in the closely guarded and highly competitive US cosmetics and personal care industry, particularly in light of the fact that the biggest players spend billions developing new innovations aimed at keeping them ahead of the competition.
Breach of contracts
The official court documents state that Craig Provost, John Griffin, William Tucker and Douglas Kohring all breached their contracts with Gillette by sharing the confidential information with ShaveLogic employees.
Gillette claims that ShaveLogic was issued with a patent last July for a technology that involved a magnetic attachment for a razor cartridge, that one of the former employees has worked on at Gillette.
The documents also state that the named former employees also worked on projects at Gillette involving new technologies that ShaveLogic later tried to get patents for.
ShaveLogic is a relatively small player in the US men’s grooming and shaving category and the lawsuit states that it has made a habit of employing former Gillette staff in the past.
Protecting intellectual assets
In particular, P&G has been particularly litigious over the years, fighting a string of lawsuits that aim to protect the investments its makes in research and development.
“We invest heavily to understand consumers’ needs and then to innovate to meet those needs,” said Deborah P. Majoras, chief legal officer of P&G.
“Our investments have enabled us to invent some of the most popular shaving products in the world. When it becomes necessary, we take action to protect the intellectual assets behind those investments.”