Marijuana pipe dispute fires up
A pipe used to inhale marijuana is at the centre of a trademark and copyright dispute between an Oregon-based glass making company and Big Al’s, a retailer in California.
David Goldstein, owner of Precision Glassworks, sued Big Al’s at the US District Court for the Northern District of California, where he claimed that the retailer’s glass pipe is too similar to his own Rooster branded glass pipe.
In the lawsuit, Precision accused the store of both trademark and copyright infringement.
In 2011, Goldstein obtained a patent for the pipe, a glass apparatus that separates solids and gases using a water filtration system. A year later, Goldstein registered a US trademark for the ‘Rooster’ name.
The Rooster pipe is targeted towards people consuming tobacco and marijuana for medicinal reasons, as well as those using the drug recreationally in the US states of Colorado, Alaska, Washington and Oregon.
Washington and Colorado legalised recreational use of marijuana in 2012, and Alaska and Oregon followed up with similar legislation in 2014.
In the complaint, filed on Friday, July 10, Goldstein claimed that beginning in September 2013 Big Al’s retail outlets started selling a glass pipe product bearing the 'Rooster' mark.
According to the complaint, Precision discovered the alleged infringement in February 2015 after an industry source informed the company of the sale and distribution of the glass pipes.
Precision argued that its Rooster image, which it claims is protected by copyright, was infringed by Big Al's glass pipes.
The company also claimed that the entire infringement was wilful.
“The distribution and sale of counterfeit Rooster products for a significantly reduced price has limited Precision’s market share.
“Furthermore, Big Al’s has profited from its distribution and sale of counterfeit Rooster products,” the company claimed in the court document.
Precision, which is requesting $126,000 in damages, also accused Big Al’s of unfair competition and false advertisement.
Curtis Edmondson, partner at the Law Offices of J Curtis Edmondson and representing Precision, had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication, but we will update the story should he get in touch.
Big Al’s could not be reached for comment.
