A Mendocino County cannabis producer has agreed to a legal settlement with Mars Wrigley over the use of the product name, packaging and promotion of “Zkittlez.”
The Mars Wrigley chewing gum factory in Plymouth, England, in June 2020. (RogerMechan / Shutterstock)
The brand commonly promoted as an edible will now be called “The Original Z.”
The July 18 announcement by Terphogz of Mendocino County, which was confirmed by the Chicago-based chewing gum and candy giant that put Starburst and Life Savers on the map, wraps up a trademark dispute over the cannabis brand’s similarity to the national manufacturer’s fruit-flavored “Skittles” candy.
William Wrigley, Jr.’s company, a division of Mars, Inc., filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Chicago in May 2021, seeking to stop the sale of products related to the brand. The complaint, which also made its way to California and Canada courts, claims the two names are too similar and provide a basis for a copyright violation. It goes on to insist THC-infused products marketed in a whimsical way is harmful to children. Terphogz sells cannabis, drug paraphernalia and promotional merchandise under the Zkittlez name and has done so for a decade.
“We filed these suits in both the United States and Canada to send a strong signal to counterfeiters and trademark infringers who are misusing various brand names in the marketing and sale of THC-infused edibles and related products,” Mars Wrigley spokeswoman Joelle Hutcheon said July 27.
Jondo, Terphogz managing partner, filed a motion to dismiss the trademark infringement lawsuit, but that request was denied by the judge in the case. Mars Wrigley demanded the Northern California never use any variation of the name with the letter “Z” and sought $250,000 in damages.
The companies settled on no damages and that the cannabis company may use the name “The Original Z,” Jondo indicated.
“What’s the name of the brand was the question. So now we just have to change the labeling,” Jondo said, emphasizing his company named after a rap song and run by “just some guys from Mendocino County” wanted to “avoid” prolonging the legal fight.
“We knew this day was coming,” he said.
Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, production, tech, energy, transportation, agriculture as well as banking and finance. She can be reached at
su********@bu*****.com