Klutch Cannabis has responded to claims that it’s copying or infringing on the branding of Klutch Sports Group, Rich Paul’s sports agency, documents filed in a federal trademark court case revealed this week.
In a 111-page rebuttal, the Northeast Ohio-based dispensary denied accusations made by Klutch Sports that Kluch Cannabis’s branding was an “obvious and willful effort to profit from and divert the brand equity that Klutch Sports has built in the very same marketplace.” Klutch Cannabis argued this week that despite similar color schemes and font, the brands are far too distinct to cause damage or confusion.
“There is no likelihood of confusion between the parties’ respective marks, goods, services or channels of trade,” lawyers for Klutch Cannabis wrote.
They’re in “fundamentally different goods and services,” they added, “sold through entirely different channels of trade, directed to distinct consumer populations and operate in separate and unrelated industries.”
Klutch Cannabis, which runs dispensaries in six locations (including Downtown), sells medicinal and recreational weed in a variety of forms—from cookies, to vapes, to tinctures and plain ol’ loose leaf. According to state records, it’s been selling under the Klutch brand since April 2020.
The only issue, as alleged in KSG complaint in March, is that Paul’s name came first—specifically two years earlier, when its own trademark was registered in February 2018. Since then, Paul’s sports agency has amassed a roster of more than 70 clients including LeBron James and Anthony Davis. It also sells branded sneakers and shirts in stores across the U.S.
“Klutch Cannabis has in bad faith adopted, used and built a business around the Klutch name,” the March filing from Klutch Sports Group’s lawyers read, “all so that it could confuse customers into believing that Klutch Sports is somehow affiliated with its brand.”
Klutch’s use of black and gold, its crown logo, and its sans serif font are an “obvious and willful effort to profit from and divert the brand equity that Klutch Sports has built in the very same marketplace.”
Klutch Cannabis acknowledged that it had received a series of cease and desist letters from Paul’s companies over the years but refused to reply due to the believe that it wasn’t infringing on Paul’s brand.
In court filings, Klutch Cannabis argued that Klutch Sports was aware a “crowded field” of similarly named companies or brands existed—all using the spelling Clutch—when it submitted more trademark filings in 2022, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office documents.
Therefore, lawyers for Klutch Cannabis wrote, you can’t argue that Klutch’s weed-related use “creates a likelihood of confusion.”
A large percentage of high profile trademark suits don’t make it to trial, mainly due to the high costs of lawyer’s fees and the possibility of damages if a defendant were to lose in court.
Lawyers for both parties declined to comment when reached by Scene.
