The maker of RAW rolling papers won an $8.7 million judgment against companies accused of counterfeiting its products, the latest victory for the brand over lookalike packaging.
The United States District Court for the District of Nevada awarded BBK Tobacco & Foods more than $3 million in disgorged profits plus $5.67 million in corrective advertising and statutory damages related to its packaging designs, according to the Dec. 17 court order.
“We can’t let anyone willfully trick our family into buying something that isn’t genuine RAW,” Josh Kesselman, creator of RAW, said in a Tuesday news release.
BBK, which does business as HBI Innovations, filed the lawsuit against products sold under the “Brocone” brand, which were manufactured in India by Brocone Organic Private Limited.
The lawsuit claimed the Brocone products not only copied BBK’s packaging designs but also replicated exact language from the company’s packaging. BBK initiated its investigation after ordering boxes of the allegedly counterfeit product from a Georgia warehouse, according to court filings. In September 2023, BBK reached a confidential settlement with NEPA Wholesale Inc., the primary U.S. distributor of the Brocone products.
The case continued against Brocone Organic Private Limited, its U.S. importer AIMS Group USA Corporation, and another distributor, Florida One Wholesale, Inc., leading to the December 2024 ruling.
AIMS Group USA Corporation, Brocone Organic Private Limited, and Florida One Wholesale Inc. are jointly liable for the $5.67 million in corrective advertising and statutory damages, while each was ordered to pay individual amounts for profit disgorgement: AIMS Group ($1.23 million), Brocone Organic ($915,909), and Florida One ($887,181), the court ruled.
BBK isn’t new to intellectual property tiffs. The company recently sued a male enhancement pill company for allegedly copying its trademarks, and previously dealt with its own false packaging claims in 2023 regarding statements about paper manufacturing locations. BBK has previously demonstrated its brand recognition in court filings, saying that its cultural impact extends to mainstream music, with rapper Wiz Khalifa referencing the brand in lyrics.
The Phoenix-based company, founded in 2005, has grown into a major player in the smoking accessories market. Kesselman recently talked with Green Market Report at an industry expo in June about the possibility of taking the company public.
“This victory marks the conclusion of a two-year effort by BBK to safeguard its trademarks and copyrights against blatant counterfeiting,” the company said in the news release.
BBK Tobacco & Foods, LLP v. Aims Grp. U.S. Corp [[{“value”:”BBK initiated its investigation after ordering boxes of the allegedly counterfeit product from a Georgia warehouse.
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