Mars Canada Inc., a leading manufacturer of candy like M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, ORBIT®, EXTRA®, and Skittles®, and Mars Wrigley recently settled a dispute over the use of the Skittles trademark on illicit cannabis products. Federal Judge Patrick Gleeson ordered three online marijuana merchants to “deliver up and destroy all infringing items and packaging” on August 12 in addition to paying different fines for violating Mars’ trademark.
In the motion, Gleeson stated, “I also find that using appropriated trademarks that are obviously and obviously attractive to children in order to advertise and offer for sale a potentially dangerous product represents a marked departure from ordinary standards of decent behavior that deserves to be denounced and deterred.”
“I have given serious consideration to the potential injury to consumers who would mistakenly drink the Defendants’ Infringing Product thinking it to be a genuine SKITTLES product as well as to the Plaintiff. It is even more important to condemn the Defendants’ actions because SKITTLES are a sweet treat that youngsters find appealing, Gleeson continued.
Mars initially filed the case in May 2021, alleging trademark infringement by the unlawful merchants. The business issued a press release saying, “Mars Wrigley strongly condemns the exploitation of popular candy brands in the marketing and sale of THC products, which is profoundly deceptive and irresponsible.” “The usage of Mars Wrigley’s brands in this way is illegal, improper, and it must end, especially to prevent children from accidentally eating these illegal THC products,” the statement reads.
The business particularly highlighted items being sold illegally on e-commerce sites in Canada and the United States under the names “Medicated Skittles,” “Starburst Gummies,” and “Life Savers Medicated Gummies.” These items “represent a substantial hazard to the public since anyone, children and adults alike, might readily mistake the infringing cannabis-infused products for Wrigley’s iconic and beloved candies and mistakenly swallow,” according to a complaint submitted in Riverside, California, at the time.
The National Post claims that Mars employed private investigators to buy imitation goods that violated the company’s trademarks.
Due to the frequent use of “Gorilla Glue” in strain names, the Ohio-based glue manufacturer that makes Gorilla Glue sued GG Strains in August 2017. By October, a settlement had been reached, stipulating that GG1, GG4, GG5, and other adhesives would take the place of Gorilla Glue #1, #4, and #5. Among other conditions, the cultivator’s website domain would be transferred to the Gorilla Glue firm ownership by January 2020.
Ross Johnson, co-founder of GG Strains and Gorilla Glue, was optimistic despite the fact that it was a significant setback. Johnson proclaimed, “We’re going to survive and triumph over it.” “Was there a setback? It is most obviously a setback. However, everything is now behind us, which enables us to advance. Sadly, according to the Cannabis Business Times, Johnson passed away in 2019 and his co-founder Don Peabody (also known as Joesy Whales) in 2020.
Similar legal actions have also been taken in relation to other well-known trademarked brands. The business sued marijuana businesses infringing on the items bearing the Hershey’s Chocolate brand in February 2018. UPS (United Parcel Service) filed a lawsuit in February 2019 against a set of delivery companies known as United Pot Smokers, UPS420, and THCPlant for using deceptive brand identification. Later in July 2019, the creator of the confectionery Sour Patch Kids took legal action against “Stoney Patch,” an illegal cannabis consumable.