Mile High Labs files copyright claim against rival CBD company
Cannabidiol (CBD) extraction company Mile High Labs has filed a complaint against a competitor, alleging copyright infringement and unfair trade practices.
In a filing yesterday, March 5, at the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Mile High alleged that Canadian American Standard Hemp (CASH) was using its copyright-protected work to raise money fraudulently.
According to the complaint, Might High created an ‘information package’ of photographs, images and documents demonstrating its extraction capabilities.
The copyright-protected package (US number TX0008679489) detailed Mile High Labs’ “revolutionary and industry leading technological advancements in extracting CBD from the hemp plant”, the filing said.
Mile High Labs alleged CASH used this information package for commercial gain, to demonstrate its own extraction technologies.
It said that through the “wrongful misappropriation” of its copyright-protected work, CASH is “falsely claiming that the technological advancements” of Mile High Labs are its own and has used it to deceive investors.
According to the filing, in November 2018, CASH announced a marketing and distribution deal with Tobacco company Turning Point Brands.
Mile High said CASH convinced Turning Point Brands to invest “based on the false and fraudulent use” of Mile High’s work.
It said it notified Turning Point Brands, which was also named as a defendant, of its objection to the investment and the use of its copyright-protect work.
According to the complaint, this did not result in the termination of the misappropriation of its work.
Asking the for a permanent injunction against CASH, Mile High said CASH continues to use its work on its website without a licence, “despite repeated demands to cease its infringing and fraudulent activity”.
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