This whole debacle is actually quite amusing when you’re sitting on the sidelines watching the war of ongoing press releases from the two global giants slugging it out in court and, you can’t help but get the feeling that it’s all a big advertising exercise but we’ll print some of the PR blurb anyway.
First up we have LG who on May 9th published this epistle to the world’s press all about steam dryers which, let’s be frank, not too many people actually care about anyway…
LG Electronics plans to appeal a court decision today in which an Illinois District federal judge declined to issue an injunction against Whirlpool Corporation for its violation of an Illinois false advertising statue.
On Oct. 20, 2010, a federal jury found Whirlpool in violation of the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act for advertising of its cold-water spray dryers that Whirlpool calls “steam” dryers. Whirlpool continues to be the defendant of an ongoing class action lawsuit in California on the same topic.
LG Electronics filed the complaint in Federal Court in January 2008 alleging that Whirlpool violated false advertising laws because its Duet, Cabrio and Maytag Bravo “steam” dryers do not produce or use steam. LG’s Steam Dryers use a steam generator outside of the drum to boil water and inject hot steam into the dryer during its steam cycles. This technology allows LG to use the natural power of hot steam to refresh gently-used clothing, remove odors, smooth out wrinkles and even reduce allergens.
Whirlpool’s products do not have steam generators. Instead, Whirlpool’s “steam” dryers spray water from a cold water source into the drum, which tumble dries the wet clothes in the same manner as conventional dryers.
In a statement, the company said, “LG Electronics believes that Whirlpool should not be allowed to continue practices that the federal jury determined to be in violation of law. Consumers are being misled by Whirlpool’s deceptive marketing of a cold water spray as steam. On behalf of consumers, LG will continue to challenge Whirlpool’s deceptive activities and review all options, including an appeal.”
Whirlpool, not wasting any airtime were right on the case with their own spin on events in courts as well as a blatant sales pitch, the pain of which we will spare you with this…
Whirlpool Corporation today announced that the United States District Court in Chicago refused to award any relief to LG on the last remaining claim in a lawsuit filed by LG in 2008. The Court found that “Whirlpool has established that its dryers do, in fact, use steam”, and that “LG did not introduce expert testimony or credible evidence of even a single Whirlpool customer, retailer, or trade representative who expressed confusion.” The court’s decision follows an October 2010 jury verdict that favored Whirlpool, and marks the third time in little more than a year that Whirlpool has prevailed against LG in court.
LG’s lawsuit had sought to ban Whirlpool from using the word steam to describe its steam dryers. However, Whirlpool proved to the Court and jury that its steam dryers, from its Marion, Ohio factory, do in fact use steam.
Whirlpool’s innovative “press of a button” technology combines existing heat resources with an automatic water mist, creating steam right inside the drum where the clothes are. At trial, Whirlpool demonstrated that its one-touch steam design was notably different than the LG system, which uses a manually-filled external water cartridge that must be replenished with cold water prior to each use.
It’s all good fun really and the lawyers are making a fortune out of what appears a really stupid argument over a pretty useless feature but, if LG had won Whirlpool would have been forced to halt sales of these dryers and that would have hurt.
