The maker of 5-Hour Energy drinks is suing to stop an
extensive counterfeiting network.
Living Essentials reports that it
recently identified and shut down the counterfeiters' alleged factory in San
Diego and obtained court orders to seize tens of thousands of illegal and
fraudulent 5-Hour Energy bottles and machinery used to produce them.
According to court papers, the counterfeit bottles
were very similar in appearance to genuine 5-Hour Energy bottles, but slightly
shorter and without a raised mark in the center of each bottle cap. Dissatisfied customers have complained the counterfeits "did not provide
any energy," according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York. In addition, the bottles' trademark
"running man" is heavier-set on the fake 5-Hour Energy labels. The counterfeits also tasted and smelled
differently and contained no vitamin B12.
Real 5-Hour Energy, sold in
1.93-ounce bottles, claims to contain 833 percent of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration's recommended daily intake of B12. Living Essentials says
it is unaware of any serious adverse reactions to the counterfeit
product.
The company received orders from federal judges in New York and San
Francisco to seize counterfeit products and business records. Living
Essentials is seeking $25 million in damages and all profits obtained through
the alleged counterfeit scheme.