Court sides with juice maker in beverage fight

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PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A federal appeals court has sided with juice maker POM Wonderful in a lawsuit over another beverage company’s use of the term “pom.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that denied POM Wonderful’s request for a preliminary injunction against Portland, Ore.-based Pur Beverages.

POM Wonderful argues that Pur Beverages’ use of the term “pom” on a pomegranate energy drink is a violation of POM Wonderful’s trademarks. According to a lower court, POM Wonderful was unlikely to succeed in the case and denied the company’s request to stop Pur Beverages from selling the drink.

The 9th Circuit disagreed and ordered the lower court to reconsider the preliminary injunction.

Pur Beverages President Robert Hubbard said he still doesn’t think POM Wonderful will be granted a preliminary injunction.

POM Wonderful notably landed another key win in POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co., in which the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling allowed the soft drink producer to proceed with its lawsuit against Coca-Cola alleging violations of §43(a) of the Lanham Act, the primary federal law outlawing false advertising.