E-cigarettes have become an extremely popular alternative to tobacco products by offering a wider range of flavors and appearing healthier than cigarettes. These new products work by utilizing juice, coils and wicks to produce flavorful vapor, which can serve as an alternative for people who want to quit smoking.
E-liquids come in a variety of flavors, such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Loops, Tootsie Rolls, Fruit Stripe Gum, Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies, and Camel and Wilson brand cigarettes. You can see where this is going, as most of these flavors are trademarked products.
These copycat flavors have sparked lawsuits from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Girl Scouts, Tootsie Roll Industries, General Mills and others. Some of these e-juice manufacturers are even using labeling showing pictures of Girl Scout Cookies, Fruit Stripe Gum and other trademarked products. Millions of consumers worldwide associate these products with specific companies. Companies involved in the lawsuits do not want their products associated with the e-cigarette industry.
Several of these companies, such as Ferrara Candy, have issued multiple cease-and-desist letters. Even after issuing the letters, e-juice makers continued to make the trademarked products. Unsurprisingly, lawsuits are starting to pour into courts around the nation.
Businesses May Have Legal Options Against E-Juice Makers
The e-juice industry is large in the Los Angeles area, with many popular companies basing their headquarters in our city or in nearby areas. Businesses may be unaware that some of these e-juice companies are taking their products and making a profit. It is unfair for a business to pour years and millions into perfecting a food product, only to have an e-juice company steal profits. In addition, these companies may not want the negative press of being associated with e-juice companies.
Fortunately, affected businesses may be able to shut down companies responsible for stealing their products through trademark infringement.