Procter & Gamble Co. sued Coca-Cola Co. Friday, accusing Coke's Minute Maid division of infringing on P&G's patented calcium-supplemented fruit juice beverages.

        Procter & Gamble's lawsuit alleges that Minute Maid is violating P&G's 1988 patent with products known as Minute Maid Premium Calcium Rich Home-Squeezed Style Orange Juice and Minute Maid Premium Calcium Original Orange Juice.

        The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. P&G asks for a court order to stop the alleged patent infringement, plus unspecified monetary damages. P&G said it has exclusively licensed the calcium-supplemented fruit juice process to Tropicana Products Inc.

        Dan Schafer, a Minute Maid spokesman in Houston, said the lawsuit is without merit and that Minute Maid will fight it.

        Less than a year ago, P&G and Coca-Cola were planning a $4 billion joint venture that would have included brands such as Coke's Minute Maid juice and P&G's Pringles potato chips.

        The companies announced the drink and snack venture in February 2001 but scrapped it in September, saying they had chosen instead to pursue business opportunities independently.

        Coke executives said when the deal was announced that they were excited about tapping into P&G's research on consumer products, while P&G was to have gained access to Coke's marketing and distribution resources.

        Analysts criticized the venture as a poor move for Coke, which risked saddling its growing Minute Maid juice brands with Pringles and Sunny Delight orange drink, brands that had not fared as well.

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