Rockstar sues competing energy drink maker over trademark

By Steve Green

Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 | 6:58 p.m.

Rockstar is pitted against RapStar in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Las Vegas over trademark rights to energy drinks.

Rockstar Inc. of Las Vegas, maker of Rockstar Energy Drinks, filed suit in U.S. District Court alleging trademark infringement against hip-hop legend Eric B and his New York energy drink company, RapStar360.

Rockstar says in the suit that the term “Rockstar” has been licensed with great success for energy drinks since 2001, more than 1 billion cans of the drink have been sold and annual sales total several hundred million dollars.

Rockstar, with 50,000 to 100,000 distribution outlets nationwide, says it’s well known in part because of its distinctive black and gold logo, including a star that substitutes for the letter “a” in Rockstar and also stands alone. It is also known for the tag line “party like a rockstar.”

Rockstar also claims it has worked hard to develop a following in various musical genres, including rap.

It has been involved in entertainment events including the Rockstar Energy Drink Alternative Press Tour, Rockstar Mayhem Festival, Rockstar Taste of Chaos, Rockstar Energy Drink Get a Life Tour 2008, BMX Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, Rock the Planet at Planet Hollywood, Ernie Bell Battle of the Bands, MUCC Tour, Insomniac Attack Tour, American Music Awards, World Music Awards, Radio Music Awards, Soul Train Awards and TV Land awards.

“Accordingly, consumers associate energy drinks that are offered in connection with a variety of music themes with Rockstar,” the lawsuit says.

In its lawsuit, Rockstar says it recently learned that Eric B, actually Eric Barrier of Elmhurst, N.Y., and Rap Star 360 LLC are “using the confusing similar trademark RapStar 360 and trade name Rap Star 360 for a directly competitive energy drink, which infringes the Rockstar marks. Defendants have also adopted a star logo that is strikingly similar to the Rockstar star marks.”

Rap Star 360 also uses black and gold product packaging like Rockstar’s, the suit says.

Rap Star adopted its trademark and trade name “with full knowledge of Rockstar’s goods and trademarks, and with the intention that consumers would be confused into believing that defendants’ energy drink was sponsored, associated or affiliated in some way with Rockstar,” the suit charges.

Messages for comment on the lawsuit were left Wednesday with Rap Star. The suit seeks unspecified damages and an order that Rap Star stop using the RapStar trademark.

Eric B, a DJ, gained fame as a hip-hop pioneer in the 1980s with partner Rakim, an MC. Their 1987 album “Paid in Full” was named by MTV in 2005 as the greatest hip-hop album of all time.