Oprah, Oz Fight Acai Berry False Endorsements
Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Memhet Oz do not endorse all those açaí berry products on the market that include their name and/or likeness. Winfrey and Oz, through their business entities, filed a lawsuit against 40 companies for false association and misrepresentation. The case styled as Oz. v. FWM Laboratories, Inc. 1:09-cv-07297-DAB; was filed in the Southern District of New York, on August 19, 2009. The Complaint is not online for downloading.
Other news outlets have reported: "These defendants are willfully capitalizing on plaintiffs' valuable reputation and intellectual property rights to lure consumers into ordering their infringing products on the false premise that they have been tested or recommended by Ms. Winfrey and/or Dr. Oz when they have not."
""Plaintiffs seek to stop the unauthorized and unlawful use of Dr. Oz's and Ms. Winfrey's names, pictures, voices and identities," the lawsuit said. The infringing products include dietary supplements, colon cleansers, anti-wrinkle creams and tooth-whiting products, according to the complaint."
"Harpo has reported that more than 2,000 consumer fraud complaints related to açaí-berry-related products have been sent to Winfrey's website. Harpo provided many of those complaints to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigian, who filed suit against three dietary supplement suppliers."
