Advertising Age reports of the brand new false advertising lawsuit: Gatorade v. Powerade.
Daily Bread reports on the lawsuit too, here.
For those of you who have been looking for a copy of the complaint, it is finally available, here (pages 1-7), here (pages 8-14), here (pages 15-18), and here (pages 19-22).
More later, but for now the complaint has six counts, including: (1) Federal false and misleading advertising; (2) Federal trademark dilution; (3) Unfair competition under NY State Law; (4) Trademark Dilution under NY State Law; (5) Deceptive Acts & Practices under NY State Law; and (6) Common Law Unfair Competition.
Probably the most interesting claim will be the trademark dilution claims that allege tarnishment, disparagement, and a denigration of the famous GATORADE trademark and trade dress. These claims are reminiscent of the claims brought in the successful John Deere v. Yardman lawsuit from 1994, where the court enjoined an advertisement that put into motion and cast the famous running stag logo in an unfavorable light.
