Mondelēz sues Project 7 over SOUR SMACKS candy mascot, packaging and shape

The complaint

Mondelēz Global LLC and Mondelez Canada Inc. v. Project 7, Inc., d/b/a JOYRIDE, No. 1:26-cv-13553 (N.D. Ill., Eastern Division), is a 43-page complaint filed November 2, 2026, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. The docket shows the case assigned to Judge Georgia N. Alexakis, with Magistrate Judge Young B. Kim designated, by random assignment. Mondelēz Global is a Delaware limited liability company based in Chicago, Illinois, and the complaint says it markets and sells SOUR PATCH KIDS products in the United States. Mondelez Canada is a Canadian corporation based in Toronto, Ontario, and the complaint says it owns the SOUR PATCH KIDS intellectual property and licenses it to Mondelēz Global. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Project 7 is a Delaware corporation based in Austin, Texas. (Compl. paras. 19 to 21.)

The marks

Mondelez Canada pleads two Principal Register registrations in Class 30 for candy: No. 5,514,097, registered July 10, 2018, for a cartoon-like depiction of a piece of candy roughly shaped like a man inside a square box (the "SPK Kid Mark"), and No. 2,812,019, registered February 10, 2004, for the configuration of a piece of candy roughly shaped like a man (the "SPK Product Design"). It alleges both are incontestable. USPTO TSDR lists Mondelez Canada as the owner of both, shows a combined Sections 8 and 15 declaration accepted and acknowledged for No. 5,514,097, and shows No. 2,812,019 renewed. The complaint also asserts common law rights in a trade dress it describes as a bold yellow-and-green background with prominent images of the kid mascot (the "SPK Trade Dress"). (Compl. paras. 31, 34 to 36.)

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that Joyride sold sour chewy candy from about 2020 as "Sour Fruit Gummies" in packaging and candy designs unlike SOUR PATCH KIDS, and that in 2025 it launched a redesigned product called "Sour Smacks" with a kid-shaped mascot, yellow-and-green packaging and a person-shaped candy that Mondelēz calls nearly identical to its own. It alleges, on information and belief, that the products are sold at the same retailers, sometimes on the same shelf, to the same consumers, and that the redesign has caused actual confusion, citing an online commenter who called the product "rebranded sour patch kids." It alleges that videos Joyride posted in January 2025 stated a goal of passing SOUR PATCH KIDS in Instagram followers, that Mondelēz repeatedly asked Joyride to stop, and that Joyride refused. (Compl. paras. 3 to 8, 10, 17, 71 to 83, 88, 93.)

Claims and relief requested

Count I alleges federal trademark infringement of the SPK Kid Mark and SPK Product Design under 15 U.S.C. § 1114. Count II alleges false designation of origin, passing off and unfair competition as to the SPK Kid Mark, SPK Trade Dress and SPK Product Design under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). Count III alleges federal dilution by blurring of the SPK Kid Mark under 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c). Count IV alleges common law trademark infringement and unfair competition. Count V alleges violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, 815 ILCS 505/1 et seq., Count VI the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, 815 ILCS 510/1 et seq., and Count VII unjust enrichment under Illinois common law. Plaintiffs ask for a judgment on each claim, declarations on infringement of the SPK marks, dilution of the SPK Kid Mark, deceptive business and trade practices, unfair competition and unjust enrichment, a declaration that the use is willful, a permanent injunction, delivery of infringing materials for destruction, actual damages, an accounting and disgorgement of profits, and treble damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a), state-law monetary relief including punitive and nominal damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and interest. (Compl. Counts I to VII; Request for Relief A to J.)

Docket

The docket shows, on November 2, 2026, the case assignment, a clerk's notice about consent to a magistrate judge, an Executive Committee order directing Mondelēz Global to file a civil cover sheet within 14 days (ECF No. 2), a civil cover sheet (ECF No. 3), a report on the filing of an action regarding a patent or trademark (ECF No. 4), a notification of affiliates (ECF No. 5) and an attorney appearance (ECF No. 7).