Pop star Bon Jovi is suing the Ocean County-based maker of an energy drink called Mijovi for trademark infringement, the Asbury Park Press reports today.
The suit against was filed after the singer and Middletown resident previously known as Jonathan Bongiovanni from Sayreville came across the product at Zebu Forno, the Press’ David Willis reports.
From the story:
But after Bon Jovi saw a can of Mijovi for sale in a Red Bank cafe in January, his lawyers sent [Marcos] Carrington, the founder of Manchester-based The Mijovi Co., a letter demanding that he stop using the name Mijovi.
“It is just unfair,” said Carrington, 37, of East Brunswick. “It is unfair because Mijovi has nothing to do with Bon Jovi.”
The name was inspired by his girlfriend, Jovita Saenz, he said.
The suit continued even after Carrington introduced himself and Saenz to Bon Jovi at an unidentified Red Bank restaurant “to try to clear up the matter and explain the company’s origins,” the Press reports.
Carrington has had a trademark application pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for 20 months, and a reviewer there recently found that Mijovi did not infringe on any other trademark, Willis reports.
“I worked very hard to build a brand, to build a company,” Carrington told the Press. “Bon Jovi is in the business of making music. I am in the business of making beverages.”
The drink maker’s website claims that “Mijovi is a new word… derived from three words of Latin origin to mean my jovial life.”
More from the story:
In a Jan. 22 letter, Los Angeles lawyer Peter Laird, representing Bon Jovi, objected to the word “Mijovi” as well as other words — “itsmijovi” and “itsmilife” that appear in the company’s marketing materials and on the can. Rather than use Carrington’s spelling, the letter used the phrases, “It’s My Jovi” and “It’s My Life.”
“As you should be aware, one of Bon Jovi’s most popular songs is entitled “It’s My Life,” the letter states. “We hereby demand that you immediately cease and desist all further use of the name “Mijovi’ and “It’s My Life.’ “
The name “Mijovi” infringes on the trademark “Bon Jovi,” and the use of “It’s My Life” is an attempt to associate Bon Jovi with the product, Laird wrote.
Like innumerable musicians, Bon Jovi is not averse to recycling titles. “It’s My Life,” of course, was the name of a song made famous by Eric Burdon and the Animals. Bon Jovi’s new album, “Lost Highway” has too many antecedents to count, including most famously Hank Williams.
