See that little toothpaste swirl? Industry insiders call it a nurdle. GlaxoSmithKline, makers of Aquafresh, claim to have invented the “highly distinctive” design better than 20 years ago. But Colgate-Palmolive has a nurdle on packaging for their own toothpaste products, such as Total, picture above. Glaxo has threatened a lawsuit. According to Glaxo, Colgate is up to no less than trying to “trade off the commercial magnetism” of Glaxo’s Aquafresh brand. The fiends.

Trademark suits can be fun. Reminds me of the time Coke sued Pepsi, back when when Pepsi called itself “Pepsi-Cola” and their logo was set in script font. Coke’s contention? That if you turned the then-Pepsi logo upside down and squinted, it looked like it could be the Coke logo.

Alas.

—Steve Cuno