PTO Disarms P&G Head & Shoulders Patent Claims In Unilever Dispute

摘要

Competition in the OTC anti-dandruff shampoo market could increase with the Patent & Trademark Office invalidating key components of two patents for Procter & Gamble Co.'s venerable Head & Shoulders line. A three-judge panel of the PTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board determined the majority of claims in two patents protecting the dandruff control brand are "unpatentable" because the technology on which they are based is similar to a shampoo that Japanese brand Kanebo marketed prior to P&G's filing.