A suit was filed in the Central District of California last Friday by plaintiff Pure Proactive Health, Inc. (Betr Health) against defendants Betr Remedies, LLC (BR) Country Mile, LLC, Green Park Brands, LP, Green Park Brands GP, LLC, Green Park Holdings, LLC, Livio Bisterzo, Jennifer Simone Hoffman, Ellen Pompeo, and other unknown individuals. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants offer nearly identical products, and altered their trade appearance to more closely resemble that of the plaintiff.
The plaintiff, Betr Health, develops and sells “various health and nutritional supplements” and provides “wholistic wellness and chronic disease management programs,” according to the complaint. After starting under the name Pure Proactive Health in 2011, they rebranded in 2015 under the name Betr Health.
The defendant, Betr Remedies, LLC (BR), who was formerly known as Live Betr, LLC, engages in the “manufacture, distribution and sale of various health and nutritional supplements and medications.” Defendant Bisterzo is the Chief Operating Officer of BR, while Hoffman is the president and co-founder of BR and Pompeo, best known for her role on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is the Chief Impact Officer and co-founder.
Following the plaintiff’s switch in name in 2015, Betr Health began applications for federal trademark protection. The plaintiff’s products have been marketed under the name Betr Health since as early as 2016 throughout the United States. Since 2011, the plaintiff asserts that they have been a leader in the health and wellness industry as a result of their products, which include health supplements, personalized treatment programs, nutrition and meal planning, and more.
The complaint specifies that the plaintiff has “invested significant time, effort, and expense in developing, advertising, marketing, and promoting its BETR trademark.” The plaintiffs have three federal trademarks for BETR, which cover their medical and wellness services, their computer software, and their downloadable computer software. In addition to the trademarks, they own common law rights for BETR, per the complaint. The plaintiff argues that their extensive use of the various BETR marks has resulted in a unique association that people make between BETR marks and the plaintiff.
Defendant BR was formed in 2019, according to the complaint. In early 2021, they changed their name from Live Betr to Betr Remedies. Shortly thereafter, they “began offering identical and nearly identical goods to those offered by Plaintiff in March of 2021 – years after Plaintiff had established rights and goodwill in and to the BETR marks.” The defendant also allegedly revised their trademark to resemble the plaintiff’s color scheme more closely.
The complaint contends that the “defendants’ proximity to Plaintiff’s goods and services has no sign of decreasing, and if not stopped, will completely eclipse the entire product line Plaintiff has worked years to develop.” The putative misconduct by the defendants continues despite the plaintiff’s cease and desist letter, which was sent in early 2021.
The alleged misconduct led the plaintiff to file a complaint citing counts of federal trademark infringement, false designation of origin, California Common Law Trademark Infringement, unfair business practices, cancellation of registered trademarks, and a violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
The plaintiff is seeking statutory and punitive damages, actual damages of $5,000,000, disgorgement of Defendants’ profits, for the defendants to transfer the domain in which they use BETR, litigation fees, pre-judgement interest, a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from further infringing on BETR or BETR marks, and other relief. The plaintiff is represented by Snell & Wilmer LLP.
