Philips wins IP infringement disputes with power toothbrush and brush head manufacturers and sellers

 Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced the successful outcome of several intellectual property (IP) infringement disputes with power toothbrush and brush head manufacturers and sellers following targeted legal actions in Europe. Financial details will not be disclosed.

In the interest of consumers and to safeguard Philips’ innovation efforts, the company took legal actions in Germany and Poland against several companies for infringing Philips’ IP rights. The infringements related to design infringements, unfair competition, trade dress infringements, trademark infringements and misleading advertisements. The court rulings in both countries upheld Philips’ rights, thereby stopping the infringements and protecting consumers against further deceptive trade practices by third parties.

“As a global leader in oral healthcare, Philips invests significantly in R&D to bring new innovations to market and provide consumers with the very best solutions for their oral health,” said Michael-John Kühne, General Manager Oral Healthcare at Philips. “We respect the intellectual property of others, and expect others to do the same as a matter of ethical business principles. When a party falls short in respecting our intellectual property, we act decisively in the interest of consumers and to protect our innovation efforts. I am satisfied that in the past two years, we have successfully concluded over 20 intellectual property infringement disputes with power toothbrush and brush head manufacturers and sellers with our legal actions in Europe.”

The courts’ rulings prohibit the defendants from further infringement of Philips’ trademarks, design rights and trade dress, such as those found in various Sonicare brush heads and Sonicare DiamondClean toothbrushes. 

Philips has leading market positions in oral healthcare products and services worldwide, leveraging an innovative portfolio of power toothbrushes, whitening devices, interdental cleaning devices, and brush heads. This is complemented by services, connected applications and personalized coaching and guidance that use smart sensor technology to empower consumers to proactively manage and improve their dental hygiene and oral health.