Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila Company Sued By Tequila 512, Accused Of Shamelessly Ripping Off Name, Branding & Bottling
Feb. 17 2022, Published 9:23 a.m. ET
Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila is being sued by a company that has claimed from the jump that the 26-year-old supermodel ripped off its name, branding and bottling.
According to the filing, obtained by RadarOnline.com, Texas company Tequila 512 is suing for state and federal trademark infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition.
Tequila 512 is seeking injunctive relief and demanding a jury trial over the matter.
"The Kardashian-Jenner family strikes again," states the suit. "This time Kendall Jenner has associated herself with a new tequila brand, 818 Tequila, that intentionally copies Plaintiff's tequila brand, Tequila 512. The similarities are so striking that this cannot be a result of coincidence."
According to the filing, Tequila 512 has been "using a highly distinctive logo and color scheme that has been in place since 2015."
Jenner has been in the hot seat over her boozy business venture since she launched the brand in May of 2021 – after an alleged three years of research and development.
Tequila 512 has been in production since October of 2012, and – like Jenner's brand – offers up the popular Mexican spirit in three varieties: blanco, reposado and añejo.
According to brand reps for the former, the names are strikingly analogous, as is the bold font choice used for said names, which are printed on glass bottles of similar design.
The difference between the two is that Tequila 512 is apparently more distilled and costs less than its celebrity-backed competitor.
- Kendall Jenner's 818 Tequila Accused Of Shamelessly Ripping Off Tequila 512 In Name, Branding & Bottling
- Kendall Jenner’s Tequila Brand Accuses Competitor Of Filing ‘Frivolous’ Lawsuit For PR Stunt
- Kendall Jenner Settles 818 Tequila Lawsuit After Rip-Off Claims, Can Keep Area Code Nod To San Fernando Valley
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Back when 818 Tequila was first launched, social media managers for Tequila 512 took to Instagram to share a message the company allegedly received from a user named Aaron.
"Is that you or did someone copy you?" read the message, which was accompanied by a photo of a bottle of Kendall's tequila blanco sitting on the shelf of a liquor store. The bottle was adorned with a store-printed label that read, "NEW!"
For comparison, Tequila 512 then posted a picture of one of its bottles of tequila blanco.
"Kendal Jenner's 'new' tequila," read the company's text along with an arrow pointing to hers, as another arrow pointed to the Tequila 512 bottle and had the word "OURS" written in much larger text.
Tagging the former Keeping Up with the Kardashians star, reps for Tequila 512 then wrote, "You may have seen that @kendalljenner released a 'new' tequila ... Note the similarities, including the color, the name and it is made at the same distillery in Tequila Mexico as ours."
[Editor's Note: 818 Tequila has since moved production to the Grupo Solave Distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco.]
"Their batches are being distilled twice. Ours three times. Yet she is charging twice as much per bottle," the message continued. "And here we are getting messages like the one in this post image. Doesn't seem very cool. What do you think?"
Nick Matzorkis, Tequila 512 CEO
A spokesperson for Tequila 512 previously told us that there had been "high-level direct communication" with Jenner's team.
"We've made our concerns known and will follow the advice of legal counsel to the extent necessary to insure we protect the unique brand identity of Tequila 512," said the rep.
Kendall's company isn't concerned. A rep for her business tells RadarOnline.com, "818 does not believe there is any merit to these claims. We cannot otherwise comment on the matter."