US energy drinks producer Prime Hydration has been accused of using trademarked symbols associated with the US Olympics’ team.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) filed a lawsuit on 19 July in Colorado alleging that the maker of the Prime energy drinks range had infringed its trademarks.
Prime has been accused of using the phrases "Olympic, Olympian, Team USA, and Going for Gold" on its latest packaging and promotional materials that feature US athlete and Olympic basketball team member Kevin Duran.
USOPC’s lawsuit states that Prime “used the goodwill associated with USOPC’s intellectual property to sell and promote its products and its brand. This solicitation is evidenced by defendant’s blatant use of USOPC intellectual property online and use of USOPC’s intellectual property on actual product.”
The US Olympic body said it contacted Prime on 10 July about the alleged use of its trademarks requesting it "cease infringement". However, it has said that Prime has not stopped using USOPC trademarks on its products.
For the upcoming Paris Olympics, the USOPC has signed a licensing agreement with Coca-Cola for the use of Olympic and Team USA on beverages in the US.
The lawsuit notes that Coca-Cola made a “significant monetary contribution” for these rights and that the “value of the sponsorship agreement is derived from its exclusivity”.
USOPC is tasked with the training and funding of US teams competing in Olympic sports. It said it “relies significantly” on the licensing of trademarks for funding.
In its suit, USOPC said the US Congress has granted it "exclusive rights to commercially exploit certain symbols and marks" associated with the games, including the five interlocking rings symbol and the word Olympic.
“The USOPC has suffered additional damages as Prime Hydration is impinging upon the rights the USOPC has given to significant sponsors of the Olympics, resulting in damages of millions of dollars as to be determined at trial”.
The USOPC is requesting a jury trial.
This is not the first legal action taken against Prime Hydration.
In April, a US consumer class action lawsuit filed in a California US District court claimed the brand’s grape flavour contains dangerous synthetic chemicals that have harmed people.
In a video response to the allegations, co-founder Logan Paul said: “This ain’t a rinky dink operation, we use the top bottle manufacturers in the United States.” He added they used the same bottle producers as brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Tropicana.
Last year, Denmark’s food watchdog hit out at the illegal sales of the energy drink Prime in its market and has banned five companies from marketing the product due to health concerns.
According to the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, Prime is not registered or compliant with the agency as it has not gone through an approval process.
