On 19 July, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) filed a trade mark infringement lawsuit against Logan Paul and KSI's company, Prime Hydration, LLC.
The lawsuit was filed in relation to the latter's unauthorised use of the Committee's symbols and trade marks on a PRIME energy drink that features three times Olympic gold medallist Kevin Durant. Prime Hydration allegedly ignored an earlier Cease and Desist letter issued by the Committee and continued to market the product using the infringing marks on packaging and in their advertising materials. A representation of the packaging is shown in the following link.
The lawsuit also references the existing agreement with Coca-Cola that allows the latter exclusive use of various OLYMPIC trade marks, including the mark TEAM USA, in respect of beverages in the USA. According to the IOC's website, Coca-Cola is the longest continuous partner of the Olympic Games and recently further extended its partnership until 2032. It will have paid a significant sum in return for exclusive marketing rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including rights to use the relevant trade marks.
There is no such agreement with Prime Hydration and so use of the Olympic trade marks would mislead consumers into believing that their company is an authorised partner. The lawsuit is a timely reminder ahead of the Opening Ceremony on 26 July that misuse of Olympic- and Paralympic-related intellectual property will not be tolerated.
The committee said Prime's branding... was "likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among the consumers as to the origin and quality of the goods and services," and could deceive them into thinking the drink was endorsed by the USOPC.
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