The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has filed a lawsuit against Prime, the energy and sports drink brand founded in 2022 by former YouTube star turned boxer and professional wrestler Logan Paul and former boxing rival Olajide “KSI” Olatunji.
The two athletes and social media influencers have a combined YouTube following of more than 40 million.
The USOPC alleges that Prime has been infringing on the Olympic committee’s trademarks. Prime is known for its electrolyte beverage Prime Hydration and its caffeine-laden beverage Prime Energy.
Prime has been running advertising featuring athlete Kevin Durant, who is traveling to the Paris Olympics to compete on the Team USA Basketball Men’s National Team.
The USOPC claims in the federal lawsuit, filed on Friday in the District of Colorado, that Prime uses phrases such as “Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink,” “Celebrate Greatness with the Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink!”, “Olympic Achievements,” “Kevin Durant Olympic Legacy,” and more.
Additionally, Prime allegedly infringed on the trademark by including similar phrases on a special edition bottle while posting photos of Durant holding the bottle next to Paul, who are each depicted wearing basketball jerseys in the advertisement.
The committee claims that it contacted Prime about infringement on July 10 and requested that the potential infringement acts be dealt with; however, Prime allegedly ignored the requests and continued to ship the product.
The lawsuit states that the USOPC does not have an agreement with Prime to allow the company to use these phrases or post these pictures, claiming that phrases and photos used by the company “tend to cause an association with the USOPC.”
“In addition, such use is likely to cause confusion, mistake, and deception among consumers as to the origin and quality of the products bearing the marks, as consumers are likely to believe that Prime Hydration products and activities are authorized by, licensed or endorsed by, or associated with the USOPC, the IOC, and/or the Olympic Games,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Prime Hydration’s conduct has been and continues to be willful, deliberate, and in bad faith, with malicious intent to trade on the goodwill of the USOPC and the IOC.”
The committee is seeking to receive all profits Prime received as a result of the alleged infringement and an undisclosed amount for damages due to “harm to its sponsorship agreements.”
This lawsuit comes as Prime continues to address concerns regarding the caffeine content in drinks allegedly advertised for children. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for an investigation last year into the company’s energy drink.
Schumer said the FDA should investigate the energy drink, which contains 200 mg. of caffeine in a single 12-ounce can, because of the company’s alleged practice of marketing it to teens.
Thus far, the FDA has not publicly launched an investigation into the company. Prime stated shortly after Schumer’s call that the packaging and marketing materials clearly state that the product is an energy drink and is not intended for children under the age of 18.
