| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Complete Gilette complaint | 206.87 KB |
Gillette yesterday sued several Lowell residents it charges have been selling Fusion cartridges stolen from World Shaving Headquarters by still unknown parties.
In addition to the Lowell residents, the lawsuit - filed in US District Court in Boston under federal trademark and patent law - names "certain unknown John and Jane Doe Defendants" whom the company charges have been stealing the cartridges. Gillette says it will fill in the Doe names once it learns who they are.
Gillette adds it also does not know exactly how many cartridges were stolen - for sale at deep discounts - but that whatever the number, they were being sold out of an address in downtown Lowell, where all of the people named in the suit allegedly live.
Gillette said that after it learned stolen cartridges were up for sale on the site last summer, it ordered some:
The samples of the Gillette Fusion razor cartridges sold by "drinks4almed" were delivered without any Gillette retail packaging; instead, the razor cartridges came housed only in the plastic cartridge dispensers that each hold four individual razor blade cartridges.
The eBay page for that account, which still appears active, lists only one negative rating by a buyer - somebody upset that the eight-pack of cartridges he bought (for $18.99 or about half what CVS charges) came with no packaging.
The company says its lawyer sent a letter via Federal Express and e-mail to the Lowell people it knows about demanding they stop selling the cartridges, but the sales continued.
Gilette says selling illegally obtained cartridges violates its trademarks and razor patents because it never gave permission for the practice and that this "is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or to deceive consumers" by implying Gillette approved the practice.
The suit seeks an accounting of all profits made by the sales - and handing over of that money to Gillette, along with damages and lawyers fees.