Seed IP attorneys secured a major victory for their client BioPure Healing Products when the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted BioPure’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Wellnx Life Sciences Inc., the maker of the popular Slimquick line of weight loss nutritional supplements. (Case No. 2:17-cv-0047) (June 30, 2017).

BioPure filed the action for trademark infringement and moved for a preliminary injunction because Wellnx was using BioPure’s BIOPURE trademark in connection with the green tea ingredient of the Slimquick Pure line of products, the key ingredient responsible for the weight loss, as advertised by Wellnx. BioPure had been using the BIOPURE trademark to sell herbal tea among other herbal supplements. Thus BioPure was concerned because a consumer aware of BioPure who saw the Slimquick label would reasonably, but mistakenly, believe that the green tea ingredient came from BioPure. The case can be summed up in the following illustration which Seed IP presented to Judge Donohue during the hearing on the motion:

BioPure was particularly concerned because Slimquick Pure has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging that the “BioPure green tea” ingredient caused liver disease. Given BioPure’s mission of promoting wellness, the idea that it could be associated with a product that has been alleged to make people sick was intolerable. Judge Donohue agreed and granted our motion.

Please contact Marc Levy at Seed IP for more information.