Fungi Perfecti, LLC et al v. Busineer Corp. et al, Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-02794-JPB (N.D. Ga., June 22, 2023)

Plaintiff, Fungi Perfecti, filed suit in the Northern District of Georgia for trademark infringement. Fungi Perfecti sells mushroom supplement products under the brand name Host Defense®. Complaint, ¶ 19. According to the Complaint, Host Defense® products are regulated by the USDA and FDA. Id. at ¶ 22. Fungi Perfecti discovered that several third-party storefronts on Amazon are allegedly selling counterfeit Host Defense® products that appear to be nearly identical to authentic products but contain ingredients that are banned from authentic Host Defense® products and can be dangerous to consumers. Id. at ¶ 33. Plaintiff seeks to pierce the corporate veil of the Defendant, Busineer, and hold Defendants Qi, Kim, and Zhang personally liable. Id. at ¶ 13-14. The Complaint alleges that Busineer registers hundreds of companies in Missouri using Busineer’s own addresses to allow the individuals operating the Amazon Storefront businesses to hide their identities and still appear to US consumers to be legitimate US businesses. Id. at ¶ 62. Fungi Perfecti alleges that it and the Host Defense® brand have suffered irreparable harm to their reputation, customer relationships, and intellectual property rights as a result of the Defendants’ actions. Id. at ¶ 77.

Plaintiff brings one count trademark counterfeiting under 15 U.S.C. § 1114, one count unfair competition and false designation of origin 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a) , and one count common law unfair competition. The case has been assigned to Judge J. P. Boulee.