By The Associated Press, 11 April, 1997

LONDON (AP) -- One of Britain's most distinguished mathematicians is suing Kimberly-Clark, claiming the company is using his copyright design on its Kleenex quilted toilet paper.

The suit brought by Sir Roger Penrose, a professor of mathematics at Oxford University, alleges that the company is using a pattern that has the same overall appearance as ``the Penrose Pattern.'' Penrose devised the complex design in the 1970s.

Penrose is best known for his work with Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University on relativity, black holes and the question of whether time has a beginning. They concluded that it does.

The suit asks for the return of all copies of the pattern and the surrender or destruction of all articles and documents using the design. It also seeks unspecified damages.

The company had no comment until it sees the supporting documentation, said Sarah Portway, director of corporate communications for Kimberly-Clark Ltd., based in Maidstone, which is the British unit of Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Dallas.

No date was set for a court hearing.