Epic Trademark Battle
On November 5th, 2019, Thunder Beast successfully settled their nearly 4-year epic underdog lawsuit vs Monster Energy Co. (MEC) on triumphant terms!
- Thunder Beast retained its Trademark for "THUNDER BEAST"
- MEC withdrew their TTAB cancellation AND dismissed the federal lawsuit.
- There was NO determination of wrongful conduct by Thunder Beast.
- MEC waived ALL rights or claims to monetary recovery.
- MEC consents to letting Stephen Norberg use "Fight Monsters" in connection with public advocacy to promote awareness of bullying in all forms.
Backstory
Back in January, 2016, when Thunder Beast was still hand-crafting and hand-bottling every product they sold, Monster Energy Co. (MEC), a company worth over $30 billion, filed with the US Patent Office's Trademark Trials and Appeals Board (TTAB) to CANCEL Thunder Beast's existing trademark. MEC claimed Thunder Beast was intentionally confusing customers who supposedly could not distinguish between the two brands.
Upon discovering that websites like Trademarkia had labeled MEC as the biggest "Trademark Bully" in the United States, Thunder Beast decided to take a very public stand to fight for justice. Not long after, a number of other small companies that MEC initiated similar proceedings against went on to fight back as well.
Thunder Beast launched a massive campaign to fight trademark bullying. And they found ways to make their desperate struggle about something much bigger than themselves. Thunder Beast started donating 10% of profits to organizations that fight social injustice, like bullying and human trafficking. Because Thunder Beast believes that bullying in all forms is wrong. In the process, Thunder Beast received national attention for their heroic efforts.
It took over 2 years of legal proceedings until all the final trial briefs had been submitted for the TTAB to rule. In a surprise move, MEC filed to SUSPEND the TTAB ruling, effectively preventing it from coming out. MEC went on to file a federal lawsuit against Thunder Beast for "fraud, oppression, and malice," complaining in a document over 100 pages long that Thunder Beast had "irreparably injured Monster."
U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. then told MEC's attorneys at a hearing in 2019: "I don't know why we're here, other than you're trying to crush this root beer company out of business ... It just seems like you don't have a lot ... The containers look nothing alike. I don't think they look similar." And Thunder Beast received even greater publicity in the Washington Post.
Before it was over, Thunder Beast spent over $75,000 on their nearly 4-year legal battle, which included 4 days of depositions in Washington D.C. and Boston, and 2 lengthy mediation sessions in both Boston and Los Angeles. Thunder Beast is proud to have successfully defended their trademark, and REGRETS NOTHING.