The Keep A Breast Foundation has won its federal court case fighting against a company, Se7en Group, who was creating counterfeit “I Love Boobies” bracelets. Defendants Se7en Group and Adam Shryock were ordered to fund $250,000 to breast cancer education and forfeit $200,000 in counterfeit merchandise, according to the press release from Keep A Breast:
Los Angeles, CA (November 30, 2011)—The Keep A Breast Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, dedicated to fighting breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. This year, Keep A Breast (KAB) found itself in a different kind of fight: a federal counterfeit suit.
Keep A Breast is widely known for its striking “i love boobies!” bracelets. With 8 million sold around the globe, these bracelet sales are a primary source of awareness and fundraising for Keep A Breast’s prevention efforts. Keep A Breast is the owner of the Registered Trademarks for “i love boobies!” and the Keep A Breast heart logo. However, over the course of 2010, people started to contact Keep A Breast stating that they bought or sold products with Keep A Breast’s “i love boobies!” slogan, but without any other identifying marks attributing the products to the foundation. In March 2011, Keep A Breast opened an investigation with Encinitas based Coast Law Group into the source of the claims.
The investigation uncovered that a San Francisco company called the Se7ven Group, owned by Adam Shryock was enlisting promotional models to sell counterfeit “i love boobies!” bracelets, and apparel at sports bars and stadium parking lots during high profile events, and falsely claiming proceeds went to breast cancer charities. Upon these findings, KAB sent cease & desist letters to Se7ven Group and its owner, Adam Shryock to stop infringing. Although Shryock responded that he would comply with the demands, further investigation revealed that Shryock and Se7ven Group were continuing to sell counterfeit merchandise. When Keep A Breast’s demands were repeatedly ignored, the Foundation was forced to take legal action in Federal Court (Keep A Breast Foundation v. Seven Group and Adam Shryock, US Dist Ct. Case No. 3:11-cv-00570-BEN-WMC).
Coast Law Group had amassed substantial evidence of infringement and fraudulent intent. The Court found that Keep A Breast had established the likelihood of confusion, and therefore the likelihood of success on the merits of the case. On October 13, 2011, Se7ven Group, and Adam Shryock capitulated, and agreed to pay $225,000 to The Keep A Breast Foundation, and $25,000 to the Young Survival Coalition, a breast cancer charity selected by founder Shaney jo Darden, thereby ensuring the ill-gotten funds were donated, as promised, to breast cancer charities. Shryock also forfeited $200,000 worth of counterfeit merchandise.
Keep A Breast co-founder Shaney jo Darden said, “My team has dedicated their lives to raising awareness and education for breast cancer prevention and education, so it was very disheartening to find out Shryock and Se7ven Group were using our “I love boobies!” trademark and misleading buyers into thinking the funds were going to charity when they clearly weren’t. I am happy with the outcome of the court case not only because Keep A Breast has gained valuable funds to advance our efforts towards breast cancer prevention, but because we want to publicly take a stand for stopping this kind of action for us and other non-profits.”
About The Keep A Breast Foundation:
The Keep A Breast Foundation’s (KAB) Mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. Through art events, educational programs and fundraising efforts, we seek to increase breast cancer awareness among young people so they are better equipped to make choices and develop habits that will benefit their long-term health and well-being. For more information, go to www.keep-a-breast.org.
TAGS: i love boobies, keep a breast, Shaney Jo Darden
