Rise Brewing sues ‘repeat TM offender’ PepsiCo
A cold-brew coffee company has labelled PepsiCo a “repeat trademark offender” and accused it of “saturating” the market with its infringing ‘Mtn Dew Rise’ brand.
In a lawsuit filed this week at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Rise Brewing claimed Pepsi was using its commercial dominance to confuse customers.
PepsiCo launched the Mtn Dew Rise caffeinated energy drink earlier this year. Rise Brewing claims the brand is a “classic case of reverse confusion,” where a larger brand adopts the mark of a smaller competitor to confuse customers into thinking the two are connected.
“The market flooding by the larger junior user (PepsiCo) overwhelms that of the senior user (Rise Brewing) and creates a likelihood of confusion as consumers come to assume that the senior user’s products (Rise Brewing’s RISE-branded products) are really those of the junior user (PepsiCo), or that the former has become somehow affiliated with or sponsored by the latter,” Rise Brewing claimed in court.
PepsiCo has form with this type of branding strategy, alleged Rise Brewing, citing the company’s supposed “long history of being a repeat trademark offender”. Specifically, the lawsuit recounted PepsiCo’s previous legal troubles with the owners of drinks brands such as VitaminWater and Simply Orange (a Coca-Cola brand).
“PepsiCo’s actions in unlawfully adopting Rise Brewing’s mark are the latest chapter of its storied history of taking instead of innovating, a story that is well documented in prior litigations where PepsiCo has repeatedly been accused of and found liable for infringing on others’ trademark rights,” said the complaint.
Rise Brewing claims PepsiCo adopted the strategy to “destroy a leading competitor to Starbucks’ Ready-To-Drink (RTD) coffee drinks, which are distributed by PepsiCo through the North American Coffee Partnership”.
PepsiCo would have been aware of Rise Brewing’s trademarks and success because the parties had met at trade shows, the lawsuit added. Rise Brewing said its rival was “dismissive” of its concerns when first informed of its alleged trademark infringement.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
CJEU lays down ground rules for ‘copyright trolls’
iLife asks Supreme Court to reconsider Nintendo patent ruling
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk