5-hour Energy - Legal Issues

Legal Issues

Innovation Ventures has sued the makers of products such as "6-Hour Power" and "8-Hour Energy" for trademark infringement.

A deceased customer's family sued Living Essentials, the manufacturer of 5-hour Energy, alleging that repeated consumption of the drink for a period of one month caused a heart attack, that the product was deceptively labeled with regard to health hazards, and that, absent the deception, the decedent would not have consumed the product. This case was voluntarily dismissed on December 5, 2011.

The New York attorney general has recently started to investigate whether the multibillion-dollar energy-drink industry is deceiving consumers with misstatements about the ingredients and health value of its products. Furthermore, some scientists and health experts say energy drinks deliver all their kick from caffeine, and that other ingredients, while not appearing to be dangerous, are simply a marketing gimmick. It is safe for the average person to consume about 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, but over-consumption could cause heart problems, according to health experts.

On November 14, 2012, it was announced the federal government received reports of 13 deaths from the past four years that cited the possible involvement of 5-Hour Energy, according to Food and Drug Administration records. The article explained that "The filing of an incident report with the F.D.A. does not mean that a product was responsible for a death or an injury or contributed in any way to it. Such reports can be fragmentary in nature and difficult to investigate."