Water Under the Bridge
PepsiCo and Energy Brands, Inc. have agreed to a settlement in the SoBe Life Water vs. Vitaminwater legal brouhaha.
Energy Brands (which sells its products under the name “Glaceau”) argued that PepsiCo had stolen its “look and feel” when SoBe Life Water launched a few weeks ago with the same calorie count, colors and sweetners under the cap.
It likely wouldn’t have been a big deal if PepsiCo hadn’t tried to buy Vitaminwater back in January.
PepsiCo has agreed to repackage the SoBe Life Water product, and I imagine that will include altering the colors and/or the intensity of the colors as well.
Gaceau founder J. Darius Bikoff said: ‘’We respect that Pepsi agreed to change Life Water’s trade dress. This reaffirms that imitation is no substitute for innovation.'’ (NYTimes)
Ouch.
Despite the parting shot, PepsiCo’s stock went up on the news.
If I were an evil bastard (and I can be, believe me), I’d turn around and sue Energy Brands for stealing the look and feel of the Gatorade bottle.
That’s probably why I haven’t had any calls from PepsiCo asking me to sit on the Board.
Email Article Friday, May 5th, 2006 at 02:02pm Mack Simpson
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Technorati Tags: Pepsi, SoBe, Glaceau, Vitaminwater, Lawsuit, Gatorade, Bottle
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