Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila being sued by competitor Tequila 512 for ‘brazenly’ stealing name and design… which also includes sister Kim Kardashian in the lawsuit
- Kendall launched her brand in May 2021 and named it after the area code of the San Fernando Valley where she grew up
- The suit claimed her tequila is a ‘blatant’ rip-off of the Texas alcohol company’s idea, which launched in 2015
- 512’s suit also noted that the bottles are eerily similar and difficult to distinguish with both brands featuring large numbers across the front
- Kim Kardashian was named in the suit when an image of Tequila 512 was used in virtual promos for 818 Tequila on Kim’s mobile app game
- DailyMail.com has contacted both 818 Tequila and Tequila 512 for comments regarding the lawsuit
Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila brand is being sued by Tequila 512 for ‘brazenly’ stealing the name and design of the Austin-based company.
The lawsuit claims 512 has sold its tequila ‘using a highly distinctive logo and color scheme that has been in place since 2015.’
Kendall launched her brand in May 2021 and named it after the area code of the San Fernando Valley where she grew up, which the suit claimed is a ‘blatant’ rip-off of the Texas alcohol company’s idea which is named after an Austin area code.
Cheers: Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila brand is being sued by Tequila 512 for ‘brazenly’ stealing the name and design of the Austin-based company
DailyMail.com contacted both 818 Tequila and Tequila 512 for comments regarding the lawsuit.
Reps for 818 Tequila told DailyMail.com: ‘818 does not believe there is any merit to these claims.’
Representatives for Tequila 512 told DailyMail.com: ‘They have had plenty of time to make any effort to correct this since it first surfaced in the media earlier last year, but instead elected to ignore it. We not only have a right to protect our trademarks, we actually have a legal obligation to do so. They know this and put us in this position of having no choice but to take action to protect our unique brand identity.’
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.
The suit also noted that the bottles are eerily similar and difficult to distinguish with both brands featuring large numbers across the front.
‘And out of the entire world of colors and shapes to use for product design, Defendant chose to copy Plaintiff’s distinctive black lettering inside a vertical yellow rectangle,’ the lawsuit said.
Close call: The lawsuit claims 512 has sold its tequila ‘using a highly distinctive logo and color scheme that has been in place since 2015’ (818 Tequila seen on the left, while Tequila 512 is pictured on the right)
Drink up: The suit also noted that the bottles are eerily similar and difficult to distinguish with both brands featuring large numbers across the front
Adding even more confusion, Kim Kardashian was named in the suit when an image of Tequila 512 was used in virtual promotional materials for Kendall’s 818 Tequila on Kim’s mobile app game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
‘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,’ the lawsuit stated.
A company representative told TMZ: ‘We are reviewing the complaint and believe the allegations are without merit.’
512 is reportedly seeking the court to issue an order to stop 818 from using its branding on products, packaging, website and in marketing.
Oh no! Adding even more confusion, Kim Kardashian was named in the suit when an image of Tequila 512 was used in virtual promotional materials for Kendall’s 818 Tequila on Kim’s mobile app game, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood
Yikes: This isn’t the first controversy Kendall’s faced with the brand after she was caught in a storm of cultural appropriation accusations for naming her spirit after the Calabasas area code and overlook tequila’s deep-rooted Mexican legacy.
This isn’t the first controversy Kendall’s faced with the brand after she was caught in a storm of cultural appropriation accusations for naming her spirit after the Calabasas area code and overlook tequila’s deep-rooted Mexican legacy.
Almost immediately after announcing her latest venture, Kendall faced intense scrutiny for the name of her brand and the attempt to diminish tequila’s cultural significance in the Latinx community.
‘There was just a lack of respect to the culture and the importance of tequila to Mexico,’ bartender Lucas Assis told Yahoo Life in February. ‘She didn’t even know how to properly drink tequila.’
Hard at work: Almost immediately after announcing her latest venture, Kendall faced intense scrutiny for the name of her brand and the attempt to diminish tequila’s cultural significance in the Latinx community
He went on to explain how agave takes up to nine years to fully mature before being able to harvest, a questionable time frame since Kendall noted that she had only spent four years perfecting her new brand.
‘The plant is embedded in the country’s history and culture. Celebrities need to understand the detrimental effect their brands can have on the tequila industry but even most importantly on the agriculture of the agave plant,’ he said.
‘Using Mexico’s culture and history for nothing other than capital gain is culture appropriation. Not to mention leaving the family-owned small distilleries, who have been doing this for generations, struggling to keep up with the sky rocketing prices of the agave, due to farmers simply not being able to keep up with the demand.’
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