DesMoinesRegister.com:


Two Des Moines companies have found themselves in the middle of separate trademark disputes, with one also being accused of patent infringement by one of the nation's largest makers of health care products.

Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary, McNeil-PPC Inc., sued Qualis Inc. last week in U.S. District Court in Des Moines. They alleged that Qualis has spent the past two years selling "warming liquid personal lubricants" to three major pharmacy chains in packages that look remarkably like those produced by McNeil's K-Y brand.

Johnson & Johnson also alleged that since February, Qualis has violated its patent on the composition and methods of use for the K-Y Warming Liquid. The plaintiffs said their product is used, among other things, to "enhance the intimacy of the sexual experience."