Pom dispute gets tasty as rival drinks maker speaks out
The founder of a pomegranate juice drink maker that is locked in a dispute over the word 'pom' has vowed to have its rival’s trademark covering the term revoked.
Rob Hubbard, founder of Pur Beverages, said his company will make Pom Wonderful lose its trademark for ‘Pom’.
Yesterday, WIPR reported that drinks maker Pom Wonderful had been handed a reprieve after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revoked a previous ruling that would have stopped it from blocking Pur Beverages’ energy drink called Pŏm.
The Ninth Circuit said that the US District Court for the Central District of California erred when it ruled that confusion between the two products was unlikely.
The case will now be sent back to the district court, which was told to determine whether Pom Wonderful is entitled to an order barring Pur Beverages from using the word.
But Hubbard told WIPR that he welcomed the ruling as it “properly places the burden” on Pom Wonderful to introduce actual evidence of confusion.
“It now forces Pom Wonderful to prove their claims that they deserve a preliminary injunction. They claim harm, but offer no evidence. They claim confusion, but offer no evidence,” Hubbard said.
“They, and numerous other makers of pomegranate flavoured products, have widely used the term ‘pom’ to describe pomegranate flavouring. The term has now become generic, and thus not deserving of trademark registration,” he added.
He continued: “We will be the company that makes Pom Wonderful lose their trademark. It will then allow the consumer packaged goods industry to use the properly used and widely known term ‘pom’ to describe its pomegranate flavoured products.”
Pom Wonderful did not respond immediately to a request to respond to Hubbard’s claims.
