Kendall Jenner Sued Over Tequila Brand Likeness

Kendall Jenner's tequila brand has become the subject of a lawsuit, with a rival company claiming it's 'brazenly' ripped off its name and design.

Celebrity tequilas are all the rage. George Clooney really kicked things off with Casamigos, founded by the actor, Rande Gerber and their business partner Mike Meldman. In 2017, they sold the brand to Diageo for a whopping $1 billion.

All sorts of people have their own tequila companies: Chris Noth owns the Ambhar brand; there's Rita Ora’s Próspero Blanco; there's Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul's Dos Hombres (yes, I know it's a mezcal); and most notably, Dwayne Johnson's Teremana is one of the biggest-selling tequilas worldwide.

In May last year, Jenner launched 818 Tequila. 'We work closely with local, family-owned farms in Jalisco, Mexico to bring you the smoothest, most natural, and best tasting tequila possible. Only the highest quality ingredients are used in its creation,' a message on its website, penned by Jenner, reads.

'The area code 818 is home to me, but the earth is home to all of us. So, from the agaves we grow, to the production of the bottle, sustainability and transparency of our supply chain was our core focus. We feel a great sense of responsibility and pride to have a positive impact on individuals, communities, and the environment. We've had so many magical nights drinking 818 and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.'

However, the makers of Tequila 512 have taken umbrage with Jenner's brand, saying they've been 'using a highly distinctive logo and colour scheme that has been in place since 2015' and it's been allegedly 'blatantly' copied for her tequila. Tequila 512 is also named after an area code.

The lawsuit specifically cites similarities in the bottle and logo design. 'And out of the entire world of colours and shapes to use for product design, Defendant chose to copy Plaintiff’s distinctive black lettering inside a vertical yellow rectangle,' it reads, as per the MailOnline.

'Either Defendant intentionally used Plaintiff’s bottle, hoping to further blur the lines between the two products, or Defendant was itself confused about the difference between the two brands,' it continues.

The suit also names Kim Kardashian after an image of Tequila 512 appeared in promotional materials for Jenner's company in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, the reality star's mobile game.

'818 does not believe there is any merit to these claims,' a spokesperson said.

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