A week before the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is suing the energy drink company owned by YouTuber Logan Paul, claiming trademark infringement.
The committee claims that Paul’s business, Prime Hydration, utilized trademarked terms like “OLYMPIC,” “OLYMPIAN,” “TEAM USA,” and “GOING FOR GOLD” on product packaging and in online marketing. The case was filed on Friday in the District of Colorado.
The drink produced in collaboration with NBA player Kevin Durant was referred to in advertisements spotted at internet retailers as the “Team USA Kevin Durant Drink” and the “Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink.”
According to the lawsuit, Prime Hydration has caused “damage and irreparable injury” to the USOPC and has “remained purposeful, intentional, and acting in bad faith, with the nefarious goal of profiting off the kindness of the IOC and USOPC.”
The committee, which oversees the training and financial support of Team USA athletes, said in the lawsuit that it primarily depends on trademark licensing to support the U.S. Olympic Team because it does not get financing from the federal government.
However, the complaint claims that unlawful use of these trademarks could deceive the public and allow a vendor to profit from linking its business to the Olympics even if there is no official relationship.
The lawsuit claims that on July 10, the legal team representing the USOPC sent a letter to Prime Hydration requesting that the company “cease infringement.” It also claims that in the days that followed, Prime neglected to take down all of the product’s social media advertisements and kept shipping the specified product.
Requests for comment from Paul, Prime Hydration, and an attorney for the USOPC were not immediately answered.
However, as of Sunday, a number of the social media posts mentioned in the lawsuit don’t appear to be any more visible on Prime Hydration’s pages. It also looks like the drink is no longer available on the business’ website.
Paul co-founded the sports drink business Prime in 2022 with fellow YouTuber KSI, but the brand has already faced criticism.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, requested that the Food and Drug Administration look into the corporation in July of last year. This happened after its energy drinks became extremely popular on the internet among kids, even though they were intended for adults. Concerns over whether the drinks contained potentially harmful amounts of caffeine were growing among lawmakers and medical professionals.
Its Prime Energy drinks have 200 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce can, which is roughly the same as nearly two 12-ounce Red Bull cans or a six-pack of Coke cans. However, its Prime Hydration line is caffeine-free.
A month or two later, Prime was the target of a class-action lawsuit claiming that “forever chemicals,” commonly known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, were present in a flavor of Prime Hydration that had been discontinued. These compounds may persist in both the human body and the environment, potentially posing health hazards. Paul refuted the allegations in a since-deleted TikTok video earlier this year.
The USOPC is requesting payment for any harm allegedly done to the committee’s sponsorship agreements as well as all earnings from the allegedly infringing drink’s sales, which the committee asserts are in the millions of dollars.