Cascara tea company Peloton is enlisting public support for its fight against a petition filed by fitness technology company Peloton Interactive to cancel its trademark for coffee-based beverages. The tea company launched a GoFundMe page this week to assist with legal costs as it prepares to challenge a Petition for Cancellation the fitness company filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office last week.
Founded by brothers Adam and David Jones, Pennsylvania-based Peloton markets a line of coffee fruit-based cold brew tea beverages, while Peloton Interactive, founded in 2012, sells exercise equipment including bikes and treadmills, online workout classes and fitness apparel. Peloton Interactive currently does not have any registered trademarks for food or beverage products, but claims in the filing that it offers “commentary on fitness, food nutrition and wellness” under the Peloton name and that its flagship New York studio sells coffee and other beverages.
While the tea company has been using the name Peloton, which is defined as a group of cyclists, for its beverage business since 2014, it applied for the trademark for coffee-based beverages in June 2017, securing it in January 2018. Despite claiming in the filing that the tea company had “actual knowledge of [Peloton Interactive]’s prior and exclusive rights in its PELOTON Mark” when it filed it trademark application, Adam Jones told BevNET at the time of the brand’s founding he had “no knowledge of the bike whatsoever.”
In the filing, Peloton Interactive argues that “the continued registration of Registrant’s Mark…will substantially damage [Peloton Interactive]’s investment and goodwill in its PELOTON Mark.” Stating that the products included in the tea company’s trademark are “closely related” to those of Peloton Interactive, the fitness company claimed that consumers are “likely to be deceived into falsely believing” that the tea brand’s products are in some way related to Peloton Interactive.
The fitness bike maker also states in the filing that tea brand Peloton “is not using, has no plans to use, and has otherwise discontinued all use of Registrant’s Mark in the United States on or in connection with the goods identified in the Registration,” and “has no intent to resume such use in the foreseeable future.” According to Adam Jones, this claim that the tea company is no longer using the Peloton trademark for its beverage business is false, as the company continues to operate its business under the Peloton name, with current distribution through partnerships with KeHE and UNFI at East Coast retailers, as well as a recent launch on Amazon.
David Jones said his company first communicated with Peloton Interactive in June, after the tea company filed for a new trademark for supplement products it planned to launch. The company received a letter from Peloton Interactive expressing opposition to the company entering the supplements market, after which David Jones said the company withdrew its application to avoid a legal battle. While David Jones said Peloton Interactive initially stated they “weren’t interested in coming after” its beverage trademark, the company appeared to change its tune this month with the Petition for Cancellation.
According to David Jones, in order to avoid a legal battle over the trademark, Peloton Interactive’s legal representatives urged the company to sign an affidavit to abandon the rights to its trademark and agree to never sell the company, which would put the brand in a “very weak position,” he said.
Peloton Interactive did not immediately respond to a request for comment by BevNET.
Despite the legal challenge, the Jones brothers said they have no plans to abandon the company’s trademark and rebrand its business. In addition to being costly, that process would also mean the loss of its retail distribution, which includes Acme, Giant, Walmart and Whole Foods, Adam Jones noted, meaning the company will continue to “fight for and protect” its trademark.
To win its case, Adam Jones acknowledged that the company needs financial support. Peloton Interactive, which valued the company at $8.1 billion when it went public last year, claimed in the filing that it accrues “millions of dollars in annual sales.” The brothers launched a GoFundMe page this week with a $100,000 fundraising goal to help alleviate legal fees.
“It’s a David and Goliath case where Goliath is just overreaching,” Adam Jones said.