Two months after Forbes reported on the explosive growth of companies using unauthorized celebrity endorsements to peddle resveratrol supplements, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Inc. filed a 267-page lawsuit that largely makes the same claims.
The trademark infringement complaint, filed Aug. 19 in federal district court, quotes the June 16 Forbes story, describing a shadowy cottage industry of resveratrol sellers claiming Dr. Oz had endorsed their products. Resveratrol is an anti-aging substance found in red wine. Forbes went after the biggest violator, Florida.-based FWM Laboratories, whose products it claimed were endorsed by Dr. Oz. The lawsuit names FWM Labs as the lead defendant.
The suit contends that FWM and others “are fabricating quotes or falsely purporting to speak in Dr. Oz’s or Ms. Winfrey’s voice about specific brands and products that neither of them has endorsed.” FHM did not respond to Forbes’ request for comment
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