GOAT has waged a new lawsuit against Culture Kings USA, Inc., accusing the San Francisco-based streetwear retailer and its CEO Simon Beard of deliberately infringing its trademarks by using the GOAT CREW brand to “capitalize on GOAT’s hard-earned goodwill” and confuse consumers. In its complaint, which was in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on September 30, 2024, GOAT alleges that Culture Kings and Beard (collectively, “Culture Kings” or the “defendants”) engaged in a “premeditated scheme” to mislead consumers into thinking that they were purchasing GOAT products when, in reality, they were purchasing knockoffs from the defendants.
GOAT v. GOAT CREW
At the heart of the newly-filed suit is GOAT’s claim that Culture Kings has “engaged in a deliberate scheme to create consumer confusion” by modifying the GOAT CREW mark to mimic GOAT’s mark on shirts, sweatshirts and hats, with the “GOAT” portion being enlarged and more prominent than other aspects of the mark. In the complaint, GOAT states that the retailer’s adoption of the GOAT CREW mark and its efforts to play-up the word GOAT was done with the intention of “capitalizing on the similar marks” to mislead consumers into believing they were purchasing products from GOAT.
GOAT further asserts that the GOAT CREW branding was initially designed with equal emphasis on both “GOAT” and “CREW,” but later, the defendants “made the ‘GOAT’ portion of their mark appear larger than the ‘CREW’ portion” and then even changed the font and color of the “GOAT” portion to make it look larger. GOAT argues that this adjustment was a strategic effort to “make [GOAT] look much more prominent” and thus, closely resemble GOAT’s well-known trademark.
Culture Kings has allegedly used the GOAT CREW mark on clothing and fashion accessories, both online and in physical retail locations, such as the Culture Kings Las Vegas store, thereby, creating a risk of confusion among customers as to the source and nature of the GOAT CREW wares.
GOAT also alleges that Culture Kings CEO Simon Beard is on the hook, as he “authorized, approved, directed, controlled, ratified, participated in, instigated, and/or was otherwise the moving, active, central, and/or conscious force” behind the decision to use the GOAT CREW mark in the U.S.”
Consumer Confusion, Deliberate Infringement
In addition to alleging that there is a likelihood that consumers would be confused as to the source of the GOAT CREW wares (the critical inquiry in a trademark infringement cause of action), GOAT presents several instances of actual consumer confusion, as well. In one example of a consumer “mistakenly believing that [he] purchased a product from GOAT, when in fact, [he] purchased a product from Culture Kings,” GOAT says that the customer left an online review for a Culture Kings product that he believed was from GOAT, referring to it as “GOAT x Inuyasha.” In another example, GOAT claims that a consumer mistakenly thanked “Goat Crew” in a review meant for GOAT, further demonstrating the confusion caused by the similarities in the companies’ branding.
GOAT describes these examples as representative of the “confusion that has already occurred” and note that Culture King’s “use of the GOAT CREW mark has caused other instances of confusion.”
GOAT goes on to contend that Culture Kings’ actions have been deliberate, accusing the company and its CEO of intentionally using the similar mark to exploit GOAT’s established reputation. Given its long-standing federal trademark registrations, GOAT claims that the defendants were aware of its rights in the GOAT mark and yet, “continued to use their GOAT CREW mark” anyway.
Furthermore, GOAT emphasizes the harm at play in light of the fact that Culture Kings and its partners are direct competitors that offer similar products, such as clothing, accessories, and online retail services, across similar marketing and distribution outlets. The competitive positioning of the defendants has given rise to a greater chance that consumers are confused and being “diverted … away from GOAT.”
Not the first time that it has taken steps against Culture Kings, GOAT states that it has opposed a trademark application for registration that Culture Kings filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in 2021 for the GOAT CREW mark for use on clothing and retail services. GOAT’s opposition is still pending before the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Despite this legal challenge and several attempts by GOAT to resolve the issue through direct communication with Culture Kings, GOAT claims that Culture Kings has continued to use the GOAT CREW mark. Against this background, GOAT maintains that the defendants’ refusal to stop using the mark demonstrates its willful intent to infringe upon GOAT’s intellectual property.
With the foregoing in mind, GOAT is seeking a permanent injunction to stop Culture Kings from using the GOAT CREW mark or any other mark that is “confusingly similar” to the GOAT trademark. The lawsuit also seeks actual damages (without specifying an amount at this point), including a “trebling of those damages” under the Lanham Act, due to Culture Kings’ willful infringement. GOAT is also asking for the court to require the defendants to “account … for any and all profits derived” from its sale of GOAT CREW products, as well as an order requiring the USPTO to cancel the pending GOAT CREW trademark application, along with attorneys’ fees and costs and punitive damages for unfair competition.
The case is 1661, Inc. d/b/a GOAT v. Culture Kings USA, Inc., et al., 2:24-cv-08420 (C.D. Cal.).
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