A New York federal judge awarded the makers of 5-hour Energy a $20 million judgment in their lawsuit against companies accused of manufacturing and selling millions of counterfeit bottles, according to CSPnet.com.
Three companies were hit with $20 million in statutory damages for infringing on Innovation Ventures’ trademark, the source reports.
According to the source, Baja Exporting LLC agreed with Living Essentials to distribute 5-hour Energy in Mexico with Spanish-language labeling and display boxes. The defendants, however, attempted to divert the product and sell it in the U.S. at a higher price. They repackaged more than 350,000 bottles of 5-hour Energy after replacing the labeling and display boxes with counterfeit labels and boxes to imitate U.S. packaging. The bottles were sold in the U.S. at a price that was 15 percent lower than what Living Essentials charged for authentic 5-hour Energy, the source reports. By 2012 the defendants were counterfeiting the entire 5-hour Energy product, the indictment said.
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