The Plaintiff in this trademark lawsuit sells “sustainable clothing for yoga, travel, and outdoor adventure enthusiasts” using the PRANA word mark and logo. The PRANA trademark has been used since as early as 1992, and even this non-yogi is aware of the well-known brand.
The Defendants are accused of selling yoga apparel under the confusingly similar name “apana,” coupled with a logo that Plaintiff feels is confusingly similar to prAna’s distinctive logo design.
Here are the trademarks…you be the judge:
Of course, we’re dealing with yoga, so the Complaint was bound to get a little weird:
“Like “prana,” “apana” is also well-known to those who practice yoga, and is closely related as the balancing vayu to the prana-vayu. It is situated in the pelvic floor, and reflects energy that moves downwards and outwards.” “prana and apana are opposing, yet balanced forces. Where ‘prana’ regulates the intake of particles and energy, ‘apana’ is responsible for the elimination of the unabsorbed residues.” Assuming regular yoga folks know all this, wouldn’t that be an argument against confusion?
What do you think…are the trademarks confusingly similar? Sound off in the comments below and stay tuned for updates. This one could get interesting.
prAna Living, LLC v. IFG Corp. et al.
Court Case Number: 3:18-cv-01174-YY
File Date: Monday, July 2, 2018
Plaintiff: prAna Living, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Nicolas F. Aldrich, Angela E. Addae of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.
Defendant: IFG Corp., Adjmi Apparel Group LLC
Causes: Federal Trademark Infringement, False Designation of Origin, Federal Unfair Competition, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law False Advertising, Common Law Unfair Competition, Unfair Trade Practices, Unjust Enrichment
Court: District of Oregon
Judge: Youlee Yim You
Complaint:
