P&G (PG) Wins Crest Whitestrips Lawsuit Against Onuge

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) has prevailed against a private Chinese competitor from breaching the intellectual property rights of its Crest Whitestrips tooth whitening product.

A federal court issued a permanent injunction that bars Chinese company Onuge Personal Care from manufacturing, selling, or distributing products that infringe on P&G’s patents/trademarks of Crest Whitestrips.

Onuge is a private label manufacturer and distributor of tooth whitening products. Earlier this year, P&G filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio in Cincinnati against Onuge and an importer, MS International Enterprises. P&G alleged that the two companies were transgressing its patents and trademarks. While MS International removed its products from the market in response and the case against it was dismissed, the lawsuit against Onuge continued.

The federal court’s order is not appealable and therefore, the case ends.

Earlier this month, P&G announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 results.

P&G beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both earnings and sales in the fiscal fourth quarter. Excluding Fx headwinds, earnings of 79 cents per share declined 8% as improved sales/volumes were offset by lower operating margins, a higher tax rate and lower non-operating income. Organic sales rose 2% in the quarter, backed by positive organic volumes, for the first time in years. However, operating profits were weak in the quarter due to higher marketing investments.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

P&G carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). some better-ranked consumer staples stocks include The Clorox Company (NYSE:CL) , Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE:CL) and Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (OTC:RBGLY) . All the three stocks hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).