According to a complaint filed in the District of Kentucky last Friday, Wellness Brands doing business as Keoni Sport (Keoni) claims that four entities have misappropriated its trademark in violation of state and federal law. Keoni asserts that the defendants, Killer Beez LLC, Muram Nutrition LLC, Vaad Holdings LLC, Golden Nutra LLC, and Nutrix International LLC, and ten unknown defendants, do so by selling knock-off versions of its cannabidiol (CBD) products on Amazon.com.
The filing explains that Keoni is a “Kentucky-based entity known nationwide as an industry leader in the sale of products containing CBD derived from hemp.” It sells products, including tincture oils, gummies, capsules, and topical products, online on two namesake websites and on Amazon’s e-commerce platform. The complaint takes pains to explain that Keoni’s products are legal pursuant to a 2018 change in federal law and the United States Department of Agriculture’s subsequently issued hemp rule.
Keoni accuses defendants of infringing its “distinctive, strong” Keoni mark by selling products bearing a mark almost identical to one Keoni itself uses. “Each of Defendants use the term Keoni in strikingly similar white font, the ‘K’ capitalized, with ‘eoni’ in lowercase and with a greenish leaf design in place of the dot forming the lowercase ‘i’ at the end of the word,” the filing specifies, providing an example of Keoni’s own use of the mark as reprinted below.
The complaint says that as a result of the alleged intellectual property infringement, Keoni suffers harm and the public “is duped and confused,” while the defendants earn ill-gotten profits.
The filing states claims for federal trademark infringement and unfair competition, common law trademark infringement and unfair competition, and false designation of origin and passing off, among others. Keoni is represented by Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.
