Logan Paul and KSI’s PRIME Hydration has caught the ire of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), which filed a lawsuit against the sports drink brand last week alleging it violated the committee’s trademarks on the packaging of its recent collaboration with NBA star and Team USA member Kevin Durant.
Earlier this month, PRIME announced a limited time version of its Cherry Freeze flavor in partnership with Durant. Copy on the side of the bottle called out the NBA champion’s record as a three-time Olympic gold medalist, asking “What makes a true Olympian repping Team USA?” and concludes that “when KD steps on the court, he’s going for gold.”
While that text could appear innocuous to the average consumer, the USOPC is alleging that PRIME engaged in “deliberate and willful” violation of its trademarks, including rights to the terms “Olympic,” “Olympian,” “Team USA” and “Going for Gold.” The complaint also claims that PRIME also called the LTO the “Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink” in marketing copy and social media posts. Despite decease and desist claims by the USOPC, the complaint states that the brand failed to remove all offending social media posts and was still in violation of its marks.
Further complicating matters is that the USOPC has an exclusive partnership with The Coca-Cola Company for use of Olympics related branding in beverage marketing.
“By its conduct, Prime Hydration has caused the USOPC damage and irreparable injury for which it has no adequate remedy at law, and Prime Hydration will continue to do so unless restrained and enjoined by this Court from further infringing the USOPC’s marks and confusing the public,” the complaint states.
As of today, the LTO drink does not appear to be available for purchase on PRIME’s website and an Instagram post promoting it cited by the complaint is no longer viewable on the brand’s profile.
PRIME has recently embraced athlete and sports partnerships such as the Durant flavor, offering similar products in collaboration with stars like New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and with organizations like the WWE.
Congo Brands, operator of PRIME, did not immediately return a request for comment.
The lawsuit is the latest in a line of controversies surrounding the beverage brand, which has established itself as a serious challenger to top sports drinks brands such as Gatorade, BodyArmor and Powerade. Last month, PRIME was subject to another trademark lawsuit, this one from Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. which alleged the brand was violating its trademark for the name “Prime Nutrition.”
The brand has also been subject to a number of class action lawsuits from consumers, including one filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York taking aim at its energy drink line, alleging PRIME Energy cans contained more caffeine than advertised.
In recent months, NielsenIQ retail scanner data has suggested sales of PRIME are sliding: in the two-week period ending June 29, U.S. retail dollar sales for PRIME’s sports drink fell -29.7% to around $604.2 million while its energy drink line dropped -67.9% to around $100.8 million. However, that data does not include ecommerce and does not cover all product lines, such as powder sticks.