Kendall Jenner’s Tequila Brand Sued For Copying Look Of ‘Tequila 512’

In a lawsuit filed in California District Court, the Austin-based company Tequila 512 is accusing Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila and parent company K & Soda LLC of “blatantly” copying multiple aspects of its branding and packaging.

Tequila 512 established a trademark in 2015 and claims that Tequila 818 used similar branding to them with “immaterial tweaks,” which consisted of the company logo “in black lettering inside a vertical yellow rectangle.” It also suggested that Tequila 818’s use of a “prominent area code” was taken from them. 512 is the area code for its headquarters in Austin, Texas, while 818 is a Los Angeles areas code.

The lawsuit also claimed that 818 Tequila used an image of Tequila 512 when 818 was being promoted as an in-game purchase for Kim Kardashian’s mobile game “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood,” last May. This was evidence that the branding was so similar that 818 Tequila either got “confused about the difference between the two brands,” or that they may have tried to “blur the lines between the two products,” with the wrong image on purpose.

Jenner has been criticized in the past for her involvement with this company, especially when it first launched. Jenner starred in an 818 Tequila ad that featured her riding on a horse in agave fields, with many critics calling it appropriative of Mexican culture and imagery.

818 Tequila has called the allegations “without merit.” Jenner herself, and Kardashian, are not listed as defendants in the case.