Sports nutrition company sues NASCAR driver over TMs
NASCAR driver Caesar Bacarella’s sports clothing line and supplement business have been hit with a lawsuit by an Australia company.
ATP Science Proprietary, a developer and seller of nutrition products and dietary supplements, accused Bacarella of infringing the ‘Alpha Prime’ trademark with his own, similarly-named sports clothing line and supplements.
ATP uses its trademark to sell Alpha Prime supplements and, according to the suit, maintains a high profile in the US, particularly within the sports nutrition and bodybuilding segment of the supplement industry.
Back in June 2016, Bacarella filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the word mark ‘Alpha Prime’, covering athletic apparel.
Three years later, in October 2019, Bacarella filed another ‘Alpha Prime Regimen’ trademark, this time to cover supplements.
In February 2020, an USPTO trademark examiner refused Bacarella’s later mark because of a likelihood of confusion with ATP’s ‘Alpha Prime’ trademark.
The suit said: “Transitioning from clothing products to bodybuilding supplements is not a natural expansion a reasonable consumer would expect.”
Despite the rejection, Bacarella began advertising his Alpha Prime Pre-Workout supplement on Instagram, said the suit.
After confirming receipt of a cease-and-desist letter from ATP, Bacarella then began selling his supplements online and using targeted advertising for the products on social media, according to the Australian company.
Now, ATP is seeking injunctive relief and triple damages.
ATP’s suit was filed as the company engages in a process to enter into an “important” distribution agreement with one of the largest online retailers of supplements and sports nutrition products in the US.
The suit added: “Of the ATP Science products to be sold through this online retailer, Alpha Prime is expected to be among the top 5 best sellers; specifically, sales of the Alpha Prime supplement through this retailer are forecasted to generate revenue in excess of $1 million per year.”
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