Red Bull Energy Drink Sues New York Distributer For “Gray Market” Imports

Likelihood of Confusion?

Red Bull North America has sued Central Supply, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for trademark infringement, unfair competition and copyright infringement for Central Supply allegedly importing and selling “gray market” versions of the popular energy drink.  Red Bull claims that the “gray market” energy drinks are intended solely for distribution at overseas locals and could have different nutritional information, unfamiliar ingredients and lack of federally mandated nutritional disclosures.

Probably more important to Red Bull’s bottom line is that these “gray market” imports circumvent authorized distribution networks.  In addition, Red Bull alleges that these gray market cans bearing Red Bull’s trademarks and copyrighted subject matter have a different overall image than the North American versions of the can and that this different look is “likely to cause consumer confusion, mistake and/or deception to the detriment of Red Bull.”

Bankrupt KB Toys Sells intellectual property Assets

US toy retailer KB Toys has sold its trademark, logos and web addresses at a bankruptcy auction for $2.1 million.

The bankruptcy court-supervised auction of the retailer’s intellectual property winds down much of the remaining assets of the firm.

CE Stores, a retail operator, won the auction, beating out bids from the company’s lenders and another retailer, Jimmy Jazz, according to Gabe Fried, founder of Streambank which managed the sale of the KB Toys intellectual property.