Days before the 2024 Paris Olympics begins, well-known influencer Logan Paul faces a trademark infringement lawsuit from the US Olympic Committee regarding his Prime hydration drink.
ADVERTISEMENTThe US Olympic Committee has filed a lawsuit in the District of Colorado against influencer Logan Paul, claiming he is using trademark phrases for promoting his Prime brand.
The trademark infringement was first spotted through Prime's partnership with NBA star Kevin Durant, describing the drink as the “"Team USA Kevin Durant Drink" and "Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink".
Phrases used included: "Olympic", "Olympian", "Team USA" and "Going For Gold".
The lawsuit said: "Prime Hydration's conduct has been and continues to be wilful, deliberate, and in bad faith, with malicious intent to trade on the goodwill of the USOPC and the IOC," while also adding that the company has impeded "damage and irreparable injury", to the US Olympic Committee.
The committee stated in the lawsuit that it relies significantly on its trademarks to fund the US Olympic team since they don't receive financial assistance from the federal government.
The lawsuit alleges that Prime's choice to use unlicensed trademarks could mislead the public and wrongfully profit through associating with the Olympics despite having no formal connection.
The committee's legal team requested on 10 July that Paul's brand "cease infringement". The lawsuit further explained that, following the committee's request, the brand continued to sell its Olympic-connected products and advertise them on social media. The attorney representing Paul's brand did not immediately comply with these requests.
However, several of Prime's social media posts used in the lawsuit as evidence were removed from their social media pages on Sunday. The product is also said to have been removed from the company's website.
The committee is now achieving all profits associated with the sale of the infringed product, which is said to be in the millions.
This is not the first time Logan Paul's brand Prime has come under criticism. Last July, the brand was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because of the fact that the brand was being primarily consumed by children despite being marketed to consumers over 18. Health officials and politicians had expressed concerns regarding the caffeine levels in the drink.
While the brand's hydration line contains no caffeine, its energy line includes 200 mg of caffeine per 12 oz can, the equivalent to a six-pack of Coke cans.
A month after that claim, the brand also faced a class-action lawsuit stating that a now-discontinued Prime flavour contained "forever chemicals". These chemicals can pose health and environmental threats. Brand owner Paul disputed these claims in a TikTok video, that is no longer unavailable.
