Last year legendary footballer Lionel Messi launched his drinks brand Mas+ which many claimed bore a striking resemblance to the hydration drink, Prime. While Messi's beverage caught some flak from Prime's co-founder KSI who claimed it "looks familiar", it was Mas+ that sued Prime for “anti-competitive” behaviour last October, alleging that the YouTuber-backed brand was pressuring it to change its packaging design.
Now, in the most YouTuber-turned-boxer-turned-business-mogul move possible, Prime co-founder Logan Paul has challenged the sports star to a boxing match to settle the legal woes. While Prime has countersued Mas+, Logan claims he'll "consider dropping" the claim if the pair can settle the conflict in the ring – any excuse for a marketing opportunity I guess.
When Mas+ hit the shelves back in June its similarities to Prime were hard to ignore, with its bottle designs, text composition and colour schemes baring a striking resemblance to the popular hydration drink. While Mas+ was the first to strike out with a legal claim back in October, Prime counter-sued with claims that the design violated its trademarks.
@loganpaul ♬ original sound - Logan Paul
In a TikTok video, Logan called out the football legend, claiming "You guys copied us and everybody saw it. [...] That's why we countersued, obviously we were going to. If you can't beat the best, you have to be the best, but that's illegal, that's our design and we're defending ourselves."
Always poised for a golden marketing opportunity, Logan went on to suggest an unconventional settlement, swapping the courtroom for the ring. "All jokes aside, I will consider dropping this if Logan Paul vs Messi [happens in] 2025. I’ll see you in the ring, brother,” he claimed.
Whether the duelling duo take to the ring remains to be seen, but Logan Paul's dedication to turning even the most serious design disputes into golden marketing opportunities is (regretfully) commendable. This isn't the first time the brand has been in a legal dispute – last year the Olympic committee sued Prime over its packaging design (although matters seemed to be settled conventionally). For more design news take a look at the unexpected challenger that won a trademark battle over Nintendo.
