Playboy Awarded $19M in Legal Battle Against Former Brand Licensees

Playboy Awarded $19M in Legal Battle Against Former Brand Licensees

CHICAGO — A Chicago judge on Friday sided with Playboy Enterprises Inc. and tripled a jury award against a pair of former licensees, Play Beverages LLC and CirTran Beverage Corp., that were alleged to have infringed on its trademark.

Last October, a jury unanimously found that the beverage companies intentionally sold Playboy Energy Drinks under Playboy's trademarks knowing that they were counterfeit. The jury awarded Playboy $5 million in damages for infringement, along with $1.6 million in a breach-of-contract claim.

Friday’s tripling of the jury’s award means that Play Beverages and CirTran are on the hook for $15 million in damages. The judge also awarded to Playboy attorneys' fees and costs of suit.  

The enforceable judgment as modified by the court now totals about $19 million, Playboy’s trial counsel said.

The court earlier issued a permanent injunction against the beverage companies and persons associated with them, including their principal, Iehab Hawatmeh, along with their agents and distributors.

The injunction ordered them to immediately stop manufacturing, selling, promoting and advertising Playboy Energy Drinks, as well as any other Playboy products or services.

The legal feud between the companies that were once business partners has been going on for more than five years and has worked its way through bankruptcy court, federal district courts in California and Illinois and the Chicago-area county court.

After several of CirTran’s creditors began an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding against the company in 2011, Playboy told CirTran it was terminating the licensing deal over missed royalty payments.

CirTran’s distributor Play Beverages, in response, filed claims accusing Playboy of interfering with its sales and distribution of the drinks.

The parties agreed to drop litigation to try to negotiate themselves but, in the meantime, the original deal expired and Play Beverages was unable to raise $2 million to keep its business alive.

Later, CirTran and Play Beverages sued Playboy, reasserting breach of contract allegations and claiming the company told them they intended to extend CirTran’s five-year licensing deal and encouraged them to sign contracts with distributors to sell the drink.

CirTran then claimed that Playboy actually had no intention of re-entering into the licensing deal because it was negotiating with other suitors.

Playboy moved its claims on to another venue, federal court in California, asking a judge to enter a preliminary injunction barring the company from selling the products after the license’s expiration.

After the federal court dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction, Playboy refiled its case in Illinois federal court, where a judge there said the dispute should be resolved in state court, where CirTran’s suit was still pending.

Playboy then brought several counterclaims, alleging it was CirTran that breached the contract and accusing the company of infringing on Playboy’s trademark.

In a statement today, Playboy officials said that they plan to collect on the judgment in the long-running case.

“Playboy will continue to strongly enforce its judgment and injunction against Play Beverages/CirTran Beverage to stop Iehab Hawatmeh's companies from engaging in infringing and counterfeiting activities,” Playboy said. “In addition, Playboy will continue to defend its trademarks vigorously throughout the world as Playboy has done in this case.”

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Missouri Republican Behind FOSTA-SESTA Renews Attack on OnlyFans

Rep. Ann Wagner, the Missouri Republican legislator who was the original architect of FOSTA-SESTA, has renewed her call for federal action against OnlyFans.

Idaho Legislature Passes Republican Age Verification Bill With Full Democratic Support

The Idaho legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Allure Lingerie Hires April Hoopes as Account Executive

Allure Lingerie has hired industry veteran April Hoopes as its newest account executive.

Svakom Wins Erofest 2024 Award for Pulse Galaxie

Svakom’s Pulse Galaxie received an award at Erofest 2024.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Partners With Anti-Porn Lobby NCOSE

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez issued a press statement last week prominently highlighting her partnership with religiously-inspired anti-porn lobby NCOSE, an organization that seeks to criminalize all sex work and eradicate adult content, and that has an extensive, well-documented history of championing state censorship and opposing LGBTQ+ rights.

Age Verification Trade Group Weighs In on UK Consultation

The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) filed earlier this month its response to U.K. media regulator Ofcom's consultation soliciting feedback on the regulation of adult websites under Part 5 of the Online Safety Act.

Aneros Releases 'Psy' Massager, 'Sessions' Gel

Aneros has debuted two new products: adjustable prostate massager Psy and water-based gel lubricant Sessions Gel.

Orion Rebrands 'NO:XQSE' Line as 'Fantasy by Cotelli' Collection

Orion Wholesale has rebranded its NO:XQSE line of lingerie as the Fantasy by Cotelli collection.

WIPO Rules in Favor of Clips4Sale, Orders Transfer of Infringing Website

A World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel has issued a decision ruling against a Russia-based website operator accused of infringing on intellectual property belonging to clip site Clips4Sale.

Eldorado Partners With Hot Octopuss for Next Facebook Live Event

Eldorado and Hot Octopuss are partnering for the next edition of the "Eldorado Presents" Facebook Live series on Tuesday, March 19 at 10 a.m. (PDT).

Show More