Chobani and its agency Droga5 are being sued by inspirational author Dov Seidman, who is claiming the yogurt infringed on his trademark while lifting core concepts from his 2011 book, "How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything." Seidman, also the CEO of business consultancy LRN, alleges that the defendants illegally employed his trademark in its 2014 Super Bowl campaign, which utilized a "How Matters" tagline. The messaging in question also ran during the Winter Olympics and Academy Awards via TV and digital properties. Maybe the most interesting part of the legal filing, though, involves Twitter. Chobani tweeted at Seidman on Jan. 29 the following:
@DovSeidman Thanks for inspiring the world to care about "how." Can you help inspire the food industry, too? http://t.co/erVULG89Hp — Chobani (@Chobani) January 29, 2014
The lawsuit points to the tweet as key evidence, stating that it shows that Chobani and Droga5 knew trademark issues could arise because of the campaign. Norwich, N.Y.-based Chobani is expected to release a statement about the lawsuit later today. The litigation documents also claim that Droga5 met in late 2013 to discuss Seidman's mark, but it doesn't reveal how his legal team knows about the agency powwow. You can click to enlarge the image below to read other statements by his legal team, which filed its case in United States District Court in New York. The lawsuit seeks damages, including the profits Chobani has earned since the launch of its campaign.