• September 24, 2008

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in Cincinnati, alleges that the new four-pound plastic container for Kraft's Maxwell House coffee, now being introduced in the U.S., directly infringes on key Procter & Gamble patents on Folgers Coffee.

In 2003, P&G introduced Folgers Coffee in a plastic container. This innovation has grown the Folgers business for the past five years, per P&G.

The lawsuit seeks to stop Kraft Foods from selling the infringing Maxwell House Coffee package. It also seeks recovery of damages.

Kraft spokeswoman Susan Davison told Dow Jones Newswire Tuesday that the company had not yet had a chance to review the lawsuit. "Kraft does not infringe the valid patent rights of others," she said. "We will vigorously defend ourselves in this matter."--Nina M. Lentini