Slashfood reports that Energy Brands, Inc., which does business as Glaceau, makers of the popular functional beverage Vitaminwater, has filed suit against Pepsico, owners of newbe competitor SoBe LifeWater. The suit is for tradedress infringement over the allegedly copycat product design of LifeWater.
As shown here, the resemblances are quite striking.
The Complaint in the suit is quite interesting and fun to read, as lawsuit complaints go, mainly because of the judicious use of photos. Not only does the Complaint contain photos of the plaintiff’s and the infringer’s products, it also displays the trade dress of the competition to demonstrate the wide variety of product designs in this market, one of the factors the plaintiff offers as evidence of the defendant’s intent to infringe.
Complaint, Energy Brands Inc. d/b/a Glaceau v. Pepsico, Inc. and South Beach Beverage Company, Inc., No. 06-CV-2662 (SDNY Apr. 5, 2006).
About Joel Rothman
Joel B. Rothman represents clients in intellectual property infringement litigation involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, defamation, trade libel, unfair competition, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and commercial matters. Joel’s litigation practice also includes significant focus on electronic discovery issues such as e-discovery management and motion practice relating to e-discovery.
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