It is extremely telling that Gillette is suing Dollar Shave Club, a direct competitor, rather than Dorco the actual manufacturer of the blades themselves.
DSC is actually just a blade reseller, so suing them for patent infringement seems odd. Until you consider that this whole lawsuit may be part of a larger drive to either push DSC out of business or buy them out of business, in either case the cost of the lawsuit will contribute.
PS - As an aside I don't think Dorco's blades are as good as Gillette's blades yet. However I highly welcome a more competitive landscape in the cartridge blade market.
If Dorco is manufacturing out side of the US or anywhere that P&G's patent is valid and not selling them into a valid country P&G can't really sue Dorco. At that point Dorco isn't violating anything it's the company that imports them that is the first point something is really being violated.
No, you can order directly from Dorco USA and get their razors shipped to your door. I've done it, and the single price points and "add to cart" buttons should make that clear too. :)
"Distributor" might be a mistranslation or imprecisely phrased.
OR "Dorco USA" is a small US based distributor that licenses their name from the other company and imports Dorco razors and sells them. Might even be owned by Dorco but is likely not Dorco.
Maybe they're not selling razors there that violate P&G's patent inside the US only to markets outside the reach of the US patent? I don't know which product lines are actually in violation of the patent.
After getting fed up with the cost of razor cartridges I went and got a double edged razor holder and 100 Derby safety razors, and never looked back.
This seems to be one of those curious cases where (at least in Europe and North America!) almost everyone either owns an electric shaver or buys expensive multi-blade cartridges, and has done so for decades. But over time the value added by those cartridges — safety from children's fingers? Certainly not a closer shave — was nullified and actually made negative by their cost. Meanwhile I shave for €5 a year with safety razors.
Is the marketing of cartridges such a strong agent here that the seemingly superior solution is largely ignored? Or am I not seeing the appeal of a Gillette nine-blade turbo-smooth aloë-vera-coated hyper-cartridge?
I sometimes wonder if this phenomenon is limited to the West, and that the rest of the world happily shaves with cheap safety blades or straight edge razors.
Or buy a straight edge razor, a strope and a stone, and be done for the rest of your life. There's something to be said about shaving with a sharp blade every single time!
I am not sure if you are being sarcastic, but double-edged razors are similar in time and effort to cartridge razors. Straight edges are, however, substantially more demanding in not cutting yourself and in maintenance. (I switched from cartridge to double-edged a year ago and found them about the same, after having looked at straight edge and decided they were too intimidating.)
Straight edge razors are kind of like cast iron pans: there is a little more upkeep, but the amount needed is blown out of proportion by enthusiasts on the internet. For myself (with corse hair) upkeep means a minute of stropping before every use, a couple of minutes on a pasted strop every other weekend or so, and a barber's hone once or twice a year. It's certainly more upkeep than anything with a replaceable blade, but I don't find it too onerous; actually, I take pride and satisfaction in maintaining my tools so the time spent is worth it to me. As to cutting oneself, I can count on one hand the number of times I've nicked myself in 20ish years with a straight razor.
I was not being sarcastic. There is definitely a learning curve to using a straight edge razor, but it's not that difficult and not as bad as often portrayed.
Maintenance can be cut down a sub-minute per use by ignoring the folklore and cutting a few corners (I use a stone once a month for a few seconds (not considered normal) and only strop half a dozen times before each use).
I wouldn't use twin blade disposables to shave my arse (literally and figuratively).
You pay more for the gel strip, and comfort of excess blades. Safety razors are a legitimate alternative to cartridges, disposables are generally terrible compared to either one.
DSC is actually just a blade reseller, so suing them for patent infringement seems odd. Until you consider that this whole lawsuit may be part of a larger drive to either push DSC out of business or buy them out of business, in either case the cost of the lawsuit will contribute.
PS - As an aside I don't think Dorco's blades are as good as Gillette's blades yet. However I highly welcome a more competitive landscape in the cartridge blade market.