Defendant
1 case as defendant.
Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is a manufacturer of pet food for dogs and cats. Founded in 1907 as a rendering works and later incorporated in 1935 as Hill's Packing Co., the company is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas. It operates as a subsidiary of the global consumer products company Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), which acquired it in 1976. While specific revenue figures for the subsidiary vary, its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, reported over $20 billion in annual revenue for 2025. Hill's Pet Nutrition's own annual revenue has been reported to be over $2 billion.
The company specializes in science-based clinical nutrition for pets. Its main product lines are Science Diet, for general wellness, and Prescription Diet, which offers therapeutic formulas to manage specific health conditions. These products are distributed primarily through veterinarians and pet specialty stores, distinguishing them from mass-market brands sold in supermarkets. Hill's operates a major research and development facility, the Pet Nutrition Center in Topeka, to support its product formulation.
As a large operating company, Hill's Pet Nutrition is positioned as a defendant in the patent litigation landscape. The company's record shows one tracked case as a defendant and no cases as a plaintiff. This posture is typical of established manufacturers who are targets of patent assertions, rather than initiators of them.
The single tracked case is an appeal filed in April 2026, Ricky Kamdem-ouaffo, Trading AS Kamdem Group v. Naturasource International LLC et al., where Hill's Pet Nutrition is a defendant-appellee. The case is before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent law. The context suggests this is a defense against a patent infringement claim, consistent with the company's overall litigation profile as a target for assertions.
The accused products are pet foods with antimicrobial properties.