Wrigley sues e-cigarette brand over Skittles
Confectionery brand Wrigley is suing (pdf) US-based e-cigarette company Get Wrecked Juices and its manager for infringing its ‘Skittles’ and ‘Starburst’ trademarks.
In a complaint filed on Monday, January 29 at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Wrigley alleged that Get Wrecked Juices had infringed on its well-known sweet trademarks by selling e-liquid for electronic cigarettes.
Wrigley’s trademarks include US trademark numbers 4,393,854 for ‘Skittles’, and 4,175,344 for ‘Starburst’.
The claim said that the Wrigley trademarks are strong and distinctive marks, which are immediately recognised as being associated with the confectionery brand.
Wrigley added: “Rather than develop their own brand names for their products, defendants have chosen to market their e-liquid for electronic cigarettes using Wrigley’s ‘Starburst’ mark, without authorisation or license...”
Get Wrecked Juices sells a ‘Pink Starburst’ liquid online, using a pink square similar to a Wrigley’s Starburst sweet to market the e-liquid.
The e-liquid infringing on the Skittles trademark is called Skeetlez. There are two images used to market the e-liquid, one featuring a rainbow and the other featuring Skittles sweets.
“Taste the Rainbow is a catchphrase associated with Wrigley’s Skittles.
In June 2017, Wrigley wrote to the defendants demanding that they stop selling the infringing products bearing the trademark but, according to the claim, Get Wrecked Juices failed to respond to the letter or remove the products.
Wrigley sent three further letters, each time demanding that the defendants stop selling the products.
All of these letters were allegedly ignored and the website continued to infringe the trademarks.
Wrigley is seeking damages and injunctive relief.
WIPR reported in July last year that Wrigley had filed a trademark and trade dress complaint against Chi-Town Vapers. It alleged that the e-cigarette company infringed its IP covering the Doublemint and Juicy Fruit brands of gum.
Then, in September 2017, Wrigley sued Dreamcore Enterprise for selling a range of e-cigarettes products containing the ‘Juicy fruit’ trademark.
One month before this, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new strategy aimed at discouraging youths from using e-cigarettes and other tobacco-related products. As part of the campaign, it will aim to make flavours less appealing to youths.
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