P.R. Coup of the Week

^{Photograph by Tim Boyle/Getty Images}

Investors will applaud any number of proactive solutions that a company can find to help recover cash in the face of falling profits.

But suing a prominent charity is not among them.

Johnson & Johnson filed a civil suit against the Red Cross on Wednesday, accusing the non-profit of having infringed the manufacturer's trademarks on the "red cross" words and logo.

The world's largest healthcare company claims that it has exclusive rights to use the Red Cross trademark on commercial products, and the American Red Cross is permitted to use the trademark strictly in connection with its relief services.

Now, J&J says, they are "very disappointed" that the Red Cross has begun to use the trademark on retail products, including "baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers."

You know, really big-ticket items.

The Red Cross calls the lawsuit "obscene," and says most of the products in question were part of health and safety kits, and that profits from the sales -- totaling less than $10 million -- went to boost Red Cross disaster-response efforts.

But alas, not a soupçon of mercy from J&J.

The $15 billion a year manufacturer demands that the Red Cross halt sales and hand over the products to J&J for destruction. While they're at it, the disaster relief non-profit should cover J&J's legal expenses, pay punitive damages, and fork over all proceeds to date. With interest.

Not surprisingly, the suit has generated a firestorm of finger wagging from virtually every direction. Such Scrooge-like behavior is a major public relations gaff for a consumer products company. But just as bad, it doesn't help allay investor concerns about J&J's financial circumstances.

At the end of July, the manufacturer announced that it would cut up to 4,800 jobs, 4 percent of the work force, in the face of declining sales and competition from generics.

So, J&J, exactly how strapped for cash do you need to be to resort to haggling with Hurricane Katrina victims and tsunami survivors over spare change?

by Liz Gunnison

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