In yet another trademark suit filed against the marijuana industry, a judge permanently barred Los Angeles-based cannabis e-cigarette company Capna Intellectual from using a product logo that resembles Kool cigarette’s brand image.
According to Law360, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright ruled that Capna, which does business as Bloom Brands, cannot use the logo “or any other marking containing interlocking OOs and/or circles.”
In December 2020, Kool’s parent company, ITG Brands, sent a cease-and-desist letter after learning about Bloom’s trademark application.
ITG Brands filed suit in January, and the judge issued a preliminary injunction in June that temporarily barred the company from using the logo.
The parties entered into a settlement agreement on July 27.
This case is the latest in a growing list of trademark disputes between the cannabis industry and mainstream companies:
- The makers of the popular Nerds candy filed suit in 2020 against a California edibles maker, alleging trademark violations.
- The Hershey Co. has for years been actively filing trademark-violation lawsuits against marijuana companies.
The judge’s order requires Capna to notify the general public as well as the company’s retail distributors of the injunction by Nov. 15 and inform them they can return any materials with the banned logo and offer them new materials.
The judge also ordered Capna to eradicate by Dec. 31 anything that contains the banned logo.
Capna and Bloom officials declined to comment, according to Law360, and ITG Brands couldn’t be reached.
