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Death Wish Coffee is suing canned water company Liquid Death for trademark infringement to protect its death-themed branding.
This isn’t the first time Death Wish has filed a lawsuit against other macabre-sounding brands. In 2023, the roaster and online retailer filed suit against roaster Death Before Decaf, after the latter attempted to extend its Australian trademark to the United States. The same year, Death Wish sued Death Hell Coffee, also for trademark infringement.
The suit against Liquid Death was filed on October 7 and claims that the beverage company is angling to launch a line of coffee products with plays on the word death, like “Deathuccino.”
Death Wish hopes to stop Liquid Death from “using any ‘Death’-formative marks in connection with its coffee products,” Yates reports. The coffee company also seeks damages and for Liquid Death to cover legal fees.
In the suit, Death Wish noted that the two brands have previously coexisted without issue, but entering the coffee sector could mean customers might conflate the two brands. “Death Wish’s legal filing states that the similarities in trade dress and branding could lead to consumer confusion, particularly as both brands may appear on retail shelves side by side,” Yates writes.
In response, Liquid Death said it has no plans to launch a ready-to-drink coffee product (although Yates does report Liquid Death applied for a trademark on the words “Liquid Death” and “Liquid Death Deathuccino”). They also noted that “we don’t believe any one company can legally own the word DEATH regardless of how it’s used.”
Read more on the Death v Death lawsuit from FoodBev Media here.
Photo by Marissa Lewis on Unsplash
