Tork SmartOne: building protection through long-term IP strategy
13.04.2026
For more than 20 years, Tork SmartOne® — the specialized, high-capacity toilet paper dispensing system — has been a fixture in medium and high-traffic washrooms. Its controlled, one-sheet-at-a-time hygienic dispensing reduces consumption and waste—a simple idea that works so well, it has become easy to take for granted.
But behind that simplicity is a less visible story: the intellectual property strategy that protects it — and helps sustain the long-term performance customers depend on.
Jeanette Annergren, Head of Intellectual Property at Essity, the manufacturer behind the Tork brand, has spent more than 35 years working across product development, R&D, innovation centers, and IP. She has led Essity’s IP function since 2016. She began her career as an inventor, working on patents related to tissue absorption technologies. Today, she leads a global team responsible for protecting and managing the intellectual property behind systems such as Tork SmartOne.
“For me, IP is the perfect mixture of innovation, brand building, and legal expertise.” - Jeanette Annergren, Head of Intellectual Property
Continuous evolution
The Tork SmartOne system is now marking its 21th anniversary. But the system has continued to evolve. New patentable elements have continued to be registered and protected as the system has been further innovated. The IP team works closely with R&D from the earliest stages, identifying new inventions, and developing protection strategies before products reach the market.
“It’s important for us as an IP team to be really close to both the category and the R&D team.”
For Tork SmartOne, that proximity ensures the system continues to improve while its protection evolves with it.
How patented solutions deliver performance
For Tork SmartOne, the goal is not to change the system’s core promise, but to continue strengthening the performance customers already depend on.
That includes benefits enabled by technical solutions, such as:
- Up to 40% less paper used through single-sheet dispensing1
- More predictable refill cycles
- Reduced cross-contamination through enclosed design
Layered protection by design
Essity uses multiple layers of IP to protect Tork SmartOne. Patents protect technical solutions that enable performance. Design protections cover dispenser appearance. Trademarks secure the Tork brand and system identity. Trade secrets and copyrights also ensure protection of Essity’s intellectual property.
“The reason we use multiple types of protection is that when we enforce our rights, we can choose which IP right to use. Essity has successfully acted across the full range of types of protection, to enforce both technical features, trademarks and design elements.”
The same approach has been applied across Tork systems such as Tork Xpressnap® and Tork PeakServe® — all rooted in technical invention and reinforced through intellectual property.
Tork SmartOne sits within that system, where performance is sustained through continuous innovation and layered protection.
Active enforcement
Essity takes its intellectual property rights seriously – among other things, it operates an AI-based global brand monitoring system that scans commercial marketplaces for potential infringements; the IP team works with sales teams and regularly attends industry fairs to identify suspicious activity in the field; and Essity teams collaborate with customs authorities in key markets to intercept infringing goods.
“We have an efficient detection process and take swift action when we identify potential infringements.”
Thousands of potential infringements are reviewed. Hundreds of listings containing infringement have been successfully taken down. Enforcement actions have resulted in court ruling and settlements in multiple markets, and have also led to product seizures, halted shipments, and distributor shutdowns across Europe, China, and Latin America. These efforts span patents, trademarks, design rights, and copyright where Essity has been awarded compensation in some cases reaching several million Euros.
“We have multiple programs in place to detect and address infringements, but there is always more that can be done.”
For Jeanette, enforcement is integral to the integrity of Tork SmartOne.
“We have a strong IP portfolio, and we are using that. We are enforcing our rights.”
For Essity, intellectual property helps innovation endure. It helps ensure performance remains consistent over time and that customers, distributors, and end users continue to benefit from systems designed to meet real needs. When innovation is protected responsibly, it creates value that extends well beyond a single product. Please visit https://www.torkglobal.com/ie/en/smartone
Foot note
¹ Tork Advanced Refill. Statistics from internal research conducted in European countries on 7,729 users. Tork Jumbo Toilet Roll against Tork SmartOne Twin Mini. Reduction accounted in square meters.