Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila is facing controversy again after competitor Tequila 512 launched a lawsuit accusing the brand of ripping off their name and aesthetic. But it’s not just Kendall Tequila 512 is going after – the model’s sister, Kim Kardashian, is also named in the lawsuit.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit alleges that Kendall’s brand copied Tequila 512’s idea for a name. The numbers in both brands’ names refer to the area codes of sentimental locations – 818 for the San Fernando Valley, and 512 for Austin.
After launching 818 Tequila, Kendall explained she chose the area code as a reference to her hometown, Calabasas. 818 is an area code for a number of Californian cities, including Agoura Hills, Glendale, and San Fernando.
Conversely, 512 is the area code for central Texas, which is a reference to where Tequila 512 was created – Austin, Texas.
Moreover, in the lawsuit, Tequila 512 claims that 818 Tequila stole their look. In side-by-side images of the brands’ bottles, they share a comparable color palette and similarly shaped bottles. Even the font for the copy and shape of the logo are similar between the two brands.
Tequila 512 says it’s been using the same branding since 2015, whereas Kendall’s brand only launched last year.
Apparently, the bottles look so similar that even Kim Kardashian gets confused, which is how the reality star got dragged into the lawsuit, despite having no stakes in Kendall’s business.
As TMZ continues to explain, Kim was supposed to promote Kendall’s brand on her app “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.” But when the tequila bottle emerged in cartoon form, it shared more of a resemblance with Tequila 512.
Though the numbers on the animated bottle weren’t visible, Tequila 512 reached out to the game creators to point out the similarity and that it was confused customers. It appears the app’s developers agreed, as the bottle was change from yellow to green.
Documents from the lawsuit reveal that Tequila 512 argues Kim either intentionally a bottle that paralleled their brand in her app intentionally, in hopes of further “blur[ring] the lines between the two products,” or she was confused by the two brands due to their striking similarities.
A monetary figure hasn’t been disclosed for how much Tequila 512 hopes to earn from the lawsuit. But they reportedly want to stop the production of 818 Tequila and to collect all profits made since the tequila launched.
It’s not clear how much 818 Tequila is worth currently, but the company’s president previously stated that sales exceeded the estimated profit in the brand’s first few months of business. Most stores were sold out the first week of launch.
As such, Tequila 512 may have a hefty settlement coming their way should their lawsuit be successful.
Sources: Capital FM, TMZ, The Spirits Business,