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A legal fight has erupted over the rights to sell … oversized sweatshirts.
A New Jersey firm is being accused of making knock-offs of the “Comfy” — a combination blanket-sweatshirt that was invented and featured on the TV show Shark Tank.
Michael and Brian Speciale, founders of the Cozy Comfort Company that manufactures the Comfy — also known as the “COZY” — filed a federal trademark infringement suit against the Ontel Products Corporation, which is located in Fairfield, N.J.
The Speciales filed for patent and trademark protections for the both “The Comfy” and “COZY” brand.
“Despite Cozy Comfort’s in-place protections and legal priority, Ontel began manufacturing, marketing and selling the `Cozy Around,’” the suit filed in US District Court in Central California said.
“The Cozy Around is not only confusingly similar to The Comfy, it is essentially the exact same product as (although of a lesser quality than) the Comfy, and is made to the exact same specifications. Ontel has advertised the product in the same exact way as The Comfy, including stealing the exact same slogan: the `Blanket That’s a Sweatshirt.’”
Ontel Products is owned and operated by Ashok “Chuck” Khubani.
The suit seeks unspecified damages on eight charges of trade infringement, false advertising and other unfair business practices.
An Ontel spokesman, Caroline Kensey, declined comment on the suit.
An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that Khubani’s brothers co-own Ontel. They do not.
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