July 19, 2007 at 11:38:00 AM | more stories by this author
Maker of coffee-based beverage gets cease-and-desist letter because its name, Mijovi, is too similar to that of the Jersey rocker.
Sure, you may feel jovial at times, but you should always keep in mind that there is only one Jovi.
Jon Bon Jovi, that is.
The well-coiffed New Jersey rocker has made that point abundantly clear to a New Jersey entrepreneur behind a coffee-based energy drink that uses those coveted four letters--J-O-V-I--in its title. During a visit to a cafe in Red Bank, New Jersey, in January, Bon Jovi apparently spotted an energy drink by the name of Mijovi.
Marcos Carrington, a resident of East Brunswick, New Jersey, and the man behind the beverage, told the Asbury Park Press this week that he was hit with a cease-and-desist letter from Bon Jovi's attorney. The letter's message was clear: Mijovi is too similar to the singer's moniker, and he must stop using the name or face Bon Jovi's legal wrath.
Carrington told the paper that the drink is named after his girlfriend, Jovita, and that the "j" is silent--think "mi hovi."
Bon Jovi is also upset that the beverage's can features the slogan "its-mi-life," as it is too similar to one of he band's recent hits, "It's My Life." That title was also used previously by the likes of Eric Burdon of the Animals and Talk Talk.
In a January 22 letter, Los Angeles lawyer Peter Laird, representing Bon Jovi, objected to the word "Mijovi" as well as other words "itsmijovi" and "itsmilife" that appear in the company's marketing materials and on the can. Rather than use Carrington's spelling, the letter used the phrases, "It's My Jovi" and "It's My Life."
But Carrington said the words "itsmijovi" and "itsmilife" are meant to mean "it's my jovial life." The full phrase on the can is "itsmienergy.itsmijovi.itsmilife."
Carrington said that future cans of Mijovi will not feature that motto.
"It is just unfair," Carrington, 37, told the paper. "It is unfair because Mijovi has nothing to do with Bon Jovi."




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