Muscle Milk Prevails – Court Orders VPX’s Muscle Power be Removed From Marketplace Immediately
Last week there was a discussion here regarding Muscle Power and Muscle Milk. In my initial post I commented:
VPX also takes a risky move in their package design. The fonts and the packaging itself look very, very similar to Muscle Milk. I understand there are only so many packages that can be used for drinks but the design and look of it has free reign. One can only assume this is an attempt to cause confusion for the consumer. The ad shows the two products side by side and furthers my point.
A Federal Court heard more evidence in a lawsuit filed by CytoSport (makers of Muscle Milk) against VPX (makers of Muscle Power) regarding this very issue. The following press release has been issued by Cytosport which summarizes the court’s findings. If you’d like to read the entire court document, click here (PDF).
CytoSport Secures Preliminary Court-Ordered Injunction of Muscle Power Due to Infringement of Muscle Milk® Trademark
On Wednesday, May 6th in Sacramento, CA, a Federal Court issued an order requiring Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (VPX) to immediately remove Muscle Power from the marketplace after concluding that the product infringes on CytoSport’s trademark rights of Muscle Milk®.
This preliminary injunction was prompted after CytoSport filed a lawsuit against VPX, stating that Muscle Power’s packaging, or “trade dress,” was deceptively similar to Muscle Milk®’s packaging. In its decision, the court stated that “VPX has chosen an identical font, in an identical color, on an identically shaped package, and placed the mark on the package in an identical location.” The court also stated that “when the marks are viewed as a whole with each product’s respective trade dress, the court has no difficulty concluding that the two marks are overwhelmingly similar.”
Upon concluding that VPX has violated CytoSport’s trademark rights, the court also stated that “VPX could have easily used a trade dress more consistent with its other RTD products, e.g. Redline, Black Pearl and Pump 7.” Given that the injunction is preliminary in nature, the lawsuit will continue while the injunction is in place.
“We are gratified by the court’s ruling and will continue to vigorously enforce our rights to protect our brand, our marketing partners, and our consumers against confusion in the marketplace,” says Greg Pickett, Co-Founder /CEO of CytoSport.
About CytoSport
CytoSport, the maker of Muscle Milk®, is among the largest sport nutrition protein beverage companies in the U.S. and offers a complete line of protein-enhanced powders, shakes and bars. Muscle Milk® was recently named the 2008 Ready-to-Drink Beverage of the Year by bodybuilding.com, Best Functional Beverage and Beverage of the Year by BevNet and 2009 Company of the Year by Beverage Forum presented by Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World. For more information on Muscle Milk or additional CytoSport products, visit: www.cytosport.com.
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While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery a line is crossed when you “steal” the look and feel of another company’s product. There is only one Muscle Milk and if VPX truly believes in their product Muscle Power they should have followed their current brand marketing style and launched the product as a new competitive protein, not as a look alike packaging. There are many competitors out there to Muscle Milk, I.e. ISS, Labrada etc that are doing well in the market place and did not have to “bite” off of Muscle Milk’s style. This is a good win!
[...] VPX’s CEO Jack Owoc isn’t backing down just yet. Today, VPX filed an appeal of the injunction that was placed against them regarding their Muscle Power drink. As posted here, a federal judge ruled that Muscle Power’s name and packaging was too similar to CytoSports’s Muscle Milk. The following story appeared on BevNet.com: [...]
I do think the look alike packaging is what did VPX in on this one. I don’t understand why they didn’t simply market the product on it’s own merits and why they needed to make any comparison to “Muscle Milk”. I know trademark infringements happen in every industry everyday, but something like this really sheds a bad light on the supplement industry.
You have got to be kidding. Muscle Milk is the biggest scam in the Protein RTD market. Only an illiterate idiot would confuse the two. Muscle Power tasted better, had less calories, less fat, and more protein. Cytosport is a joke.