Thunder Beast Legal Fund
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$2,415 raised of $65K
27 donations
Overview
One man successfully completes a nearly 4-year legal battle against a multinational corporation.
Note: we received $8,660 from 77 donations prior to moving our Legal Fund over to GoFundMe.
Story
Stephen Norberg had a simple dream: to share his passion with the world by crafting delicious root beer. So he put his life savings into Thunder Beast! And he worked hard. Stephen hand-bottled over 50,000 units on a home-made bottler, and he brewed delicious recipes late into the night, sometimes until the sun came up. He delivered root beer all over town on his bike and in his car, sold at hundreds of farmers markets, and eventually worked his way into 100 retailers in over 4 states.
And then the unthinkable happened. Monster Energy Co (MEC), a company worth over $30 billion dollars, took legal action against him. First they sought to cancel the Thunder Beast trademark through the US Patent and Trademark Office (TTAB) where they have initiated over 1,000 trademark cases. MEC claimed Thunder Beast was intentionally confusing customers who could not distinguish between the two brands.
In response, Thunder Beast added the slogan and call-to-action, "Fight Monsters" to product labels in 2016, receiving national attention. Thunder Beast vocally opposed bullying in all forms, and even started donating 10% of profits to fight various forms of bullying. Then, in 2018, MEC filed to suspend the TTAB case, and initiated a civil lawsuit against Thunder Beast and Stephen for "fraud, oppression, and malice," complaining in a document over 100 pages long that Thunder Beast and Stephen had "irreparably injured Monster."
U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. then told MEC’s attorneys at a hearing in 2019: “I don’t know why we’re here, other than you’re trying to crush this root beer company out of business ... It just seems like you don’t have a lot ... The containers look nothing alike. I don’t think they look similar.” And Thunder Beast received even greater publicity in the Washington Post.
On November 5th, 2019 Thunder Beast and Stephen successfully settled the lawsuit with triumphant terms! Thunder Beast retained its trademark, MEC withdrew their TTAB cancellation AND dismissed the federal lawsuit. There was no determination of wrongful conduct by Thunder Beast or Stephen. MEC waived ALL rights or claims to monetary recovery. And MEC consented to Stephen using, "FIGHT MONSTERS" in connection with public advocacy to promote awareness of bullying in all forms.
Despite achieving this epic and inspiring underdog triumph, the financial toll for Stephen has been significant. He spent over $75,000 in legal bills wiping out their savings and taking on debt. Thunder Beast's revenue dropped to 40% of what it was before the legal battle. Stephen had to sell equipment to pay bills, and one of his distributors inexplicably stopped carrying Thunder Beast after MEC subpoenaed them. Thunder Beast won their trademark battle, but still faces an uphill struggle for survival.
If you know any journalists, reporters, radio show hosts, bloggers, or podcasters interested in our story, please let us know: [email redacted]
One man successfully completes a nearly 4-year legal battle against a multinational corporation.
Note: we received $8,660 from 77 donations prior to moving our Legal Fund over to GoFundMe.
Story
Stephen Norberg had a simple dream: to share his passion with the world by crafting delicious root beer. So he put his life savings into Thunder Beast! And he worked hard. Stephen hand-bottled over 50,000 units on a home-made bottler, and he brewed delicious recipes late into the night, sometimes until the sun came up. He delivered root beer all over town on his bike and in his car, sold at hundreds of farmers markets, and eventually worked his way into 100 retailers in over 4 states.
And then the unthinkable happened. Monster Energy Co (MEC), a company worth over $30 billion dollars, took legal action against him. First they sought to cancel the Thunder Beast trademark through the US Patent and Trademark Office (TTAB) where they have initiated over 1,000 trademark cases. MEC claimed Thunder Beast was intentionally confusing customers who could not distinguish between the two brands.
In response, Thunder Beast added the slogan and call-to-action, "Fight Monsters" to product labels in 2016, receiving national attention. Thunder Beast vocally opposed bullying in all forms, and even started donating 10% of profits to fight various forms of bullying. Then, in 2018, MEC filed to suspend the TTAB case, and initiated a civil lawsuit against Thunder Beast and Stephen for "fraud, oppression, and malice," complaining in a document over 100 pages long that Thunder Beast and Stephen had "irreparably injured Monster."
U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. then told MEC’s attorneys at a hearing in 2019: “I don’t know why we’re here, other than you’re trying to crush this root beer company out of business ... It just seems like you don’t have a lot ... The containers look nothing alike. I don’t think they look similar.” And Thunder Beast received even greater publicity in the Washington Post.
On November 5th, 2019 Thunder Beast and Stephen successfully settled the lawsuit with triumphant terms! Thunder Beast retained its trademark, MEC withdrew their TTAB cancellation AND dismissed the federal lawsuit. There was no determination of wrongful conduct by Thunder Beast or Stephen. MEC waived ALL rights or claims to monetary recovery. And MEC consented to Stephen using, "FIGHT MONSTERS" in connection with public advocacy to promote awareness of bullying in all forms.
Despite achieving this epic and inspiring underdog triumph, the financial toll for Stephen has been significant. He spent over $75,000 in legal bills wiping out their savings and taking on debt. Thunder Beast's revenue dropped to 40% of what it was before the legal battle. Stephen had to sell equipment to pay bills, and one of his distributors inexplicably stopped carrying Thunder Beast after MEC subpoenaed them. Thunder Beast won their trademark battle, but still faces an uphill struggle for survival.
If you know any journalists, reporters, radio show hosts, bloggers, or podcasters interested in our story, please let us know: [email redacted]