A federal choose on Monday ordered Republic Tobacco, makers of OCB rolling papers, to pay $1.5 million to HBI Worldwide, makers of RAW rolling papers, for infringing on the RAW copyright and commerce costume.
The ruling concludes a seven-year courtroom battle between the 2 corporations.
In an announcement, Josh Kesselman, RAW founder, stated the corporate was “happy with the result, however that doesn’t make this any much less irritating.”
“Republic has persistently filed lawsuit after lawsuit towards our firm, maybe due to our success. We intend to donate the web proceeds we’ll obtain, now that this case is resolved, to organizations working to assist small companies within the hashish discipline, notably companies which are startups involving people who have been beforehand convicted of nonviolent hashish associated crimes. We’re hopeful that Republic will now stop its relentless effort to destroy our enterprise and focus, like us, on serving to the rising hashish business obtain higher fairness within the market.” — Kesselman in a press release
This newest case started in 2016 when RAW contacted Republic to level out the similarity between RAW’s Natural Hemp product packaging, which was launched in 2009, and Republic’s OCB Natural Hemp paper packaging, which debuted in 2011.
Republic launched the OCB Natural Hemp product within the U.S. in 2014 and HBI reached out to Republic in regards to the advertising and packaging similarities quickly after. RAW had solely requested for the businesses to debate the matter, however Republic sued its rival in federal courtroom in Illinois, in search of a declaratory judgment saying it had not infringed on something. RAW counterclaimed for infringement, after which Republic introduced a collection of allegations that RAW had made misstatements on its merchandise and advertising supplies and that RAW was unlawful hashish paraphernalia.
Republic alleged that RAW papers and all cones have been unlawful merchandise due to their affiliation with hashish and movie star people who smoke and claimed false promoting beneath the federal Lanham Act, misleading commerce practices, and unfair competitors beneath Illinois state regulation.
In 2021, a jury concluded that Republic had willfully infringed on RAW Natural Hemp commerce costume, together with its copyrighted “Offered Right here” signal and awarded the corporate over $1 million. The jury additionally discovered that none of RAW’s product statements violated the Lanham Act, however discovered for Republic on the Illinois Misleading Commerce Practices Act and the declare for unfair competitors based mostly on the identical factual allegations.
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