ExxonMobil Sues Roxx Vodka Over Trademark

HOUSTON — Exxon Mobil Corp. filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Nielsen Spirits, maker of Roxx Vodka, over the use of its interlocking XX logo. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, claims that the Roxx logo is too similar to ExxonMobil's own logo, which also features interlocking XXs.

ExxonMobil seeks to prohibit Roxx from using the interlocking XXs in its logo and to get profits gained by the brand related to its "wrongful activities," according to media reports.

"ExxonMobil is pursuing legal action against Nielsen Spirits for violating our trademark rights by using a three-stroke interlocking X design in the logo for its new 'Roxx Vodka' beverage, and using a three-stroke interlocking X design alone," stated William Holbrook, Exxon's corporate media relations senior adviser. "The public associates the three-stroke interlocking X design with 'Exxon' and 'ExxonMobil,' and they represent a valuable part of ExxonMobil's branding."

The lawsuit comes soon after ExxonMobil settled another trademark infringement suit against the FXX Network and its use of an interlocking XX logo following an out-of-court agreement, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Nielsen Spirits calls itself a "two-person startup" and sells Roxx in Arizona and southern California.

"It is ridiculous, if not insulting, to suggest that any reasonable consumer would ever confuse the Exxon logo with Roxx's distinguishable mark," a representative for Rox said in a released statement. "The day a consumer confuses Roxx for gasoline, even high test, is the day we're out of businesses. It is equally absurd to allege that anything Roxx could ever do would result in any dilution of Exxon's mark."