How was USOPC's lawsuit against Prime Hydration settled? Details explored

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s (USOPC) lawsuit against Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration has been settled. Prime Hydration is a company that markets a range of drinks and mixes for sports and energy.

It signed a partnership with basketball player Kevin Durant in July 2024 after which a limited-time sports drink was released. The bottle design referenced Durant's achievements, including phrases like "Team US Kevin Durant Drink" and "Kevin Durant Olympic Prime Drink."

This led to a trademark lawsuit from USOPC, which claimed Prime improperly used Olympic-related terms and trademarks in its marketing. Six months later, Judge Regina M. Rodriguez dismissed the lawsuit.

In December 2024, attorneys for USOPC requested the court to pause the motion to dismiss, as the parties worked on a confidential settlement. The 45-day suspension ended on January 15, 2025, when the court officially dismissed the case. The dismissal stated that each side would cover legal fees and costs, and the case was permanently closed.

According to the status report of the lawsuit available online,

“Pursuant to the Court’s Minute Order (ECF 29), the parties provide this Joint Status Report and advise the Court that it should not be necessary to move forward with the Motion to Dismiss or a possible amendment of complaint as the parties have reached an agreement to settle this dispute.”

It further mentioned:

“The parties are in the process of finalizing and executing a confidential settlement agreement. As such, the parties request that the Status Conference currently set for December 4, 2024 be rescheduled, that the briefing on the Motion to Dismiss be suspended, and that the case be suspended for 45 days to allow for the execution of the settlement agreement and dismissal of the action.”

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Delving deeper into USOPC's lawsuit against Prime Hydration

The committee stated that, despite repeated requests, Prime Hydration continued using trademarked terms in its advertising and social media posts. A cease-and-desist letter was sent on July 10, 2024, but the company allegedly kept distributing the special edition bottles.

According to Front Office Sports, the USOPC accused Prime Hydration of acting deliberately, in bad faith, and intending to misuse the goodwill associated with the USOPC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The committee filed a lawsuit against the product for alleged trademark infringement seeking millions. The complaint was filed in a federal court on July 19, 2024.

Prime Hydration's partnership with Kevin Durant featured labeling on prime bottles and advertisements that included the terms “Olympic,” “Olympian,” “Team USA,” and “Going for the Gold.”

The USOPC is a federally chartered corporation that looks after the training and funding of the US teams for the Olympic events. However, the US government does not provide them any financing of the operations. Its funding mostly relies on licensing its trademarks under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act.

Besides Logan Paul, Olajide “KSI” Olatunji is also the founder of the drink company, which started its operations in 2022.