A judge in Massachusetts has reduced Beyond Meat’s financial liability in a trademark lawsuit over a Dunkin’ ad, axing $23.4M of the overall $38.9M awarded by a jury last year.
Months after a jury found Beyond Meat liable to pay nearly $39M for infringing a trademark owned by Sonate (which does business as Vegadelphia Foods), a federal judge has accepted the plant-based meat company’s motion to reduce the damages awarded.
The sum included $23.5M in actual damages for the infringement, and another $15.4M in disgorgement of its profits. At the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Justice Indira Talwani cut the amount Beyond owes for the former by $23.4M, totalling just $37,500.
Both sides can pursue further motions or appeals to the judgment. But as it stands, Beyond – which was sued over its use of the slogans “Great Taste, Plant-Based” and “Plant-Based, Great Taste” in an advertisement for the Beyond Sausage sandwich at Dunkin’ – now needs to pay Vegadelphia $15.44 million, a 60% cut from the jury’s original award.
Beyond Meat’s infringement didn’t substantially impact Vegadelphia’s valuation
The case emanates from Beyond’s 2019 partnership with Dunkin’, which introduced the Beyond Sausage breakfast sandwich. on its menu. The companies promoted the dish with a commercial featuring American rapper Snoop Dogg and the tagline “Great Taste, Plant-Based”
But Vegadelphia, which also sells plant-based meat and was incorporated five years before Beyond, had received a federal trademark for its slogan “Where Great Taste Is Plant-Based” in 2015.
So it claimed that Beyond and Dunkin’ were using its trademark without permission, arguing that it led to the collapse of acquisition talks with two food industry executives – a deal dubbed “Vegadelphia 2.0” – that could have valued the company at $100M within a few years.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022, and Dunkin’ settled the case in 2024. Beyond, however, felt the slogans wouldn’t cause market confusion and instead accurately described its products. The latter’s attorneys suggested that the use of the two phrases in question was distinct enough not to cause a legal issue.
But last year, a jury disagreed with the claims that the slogans constituted fair use and were sufficiently different, dismissing Beyond’s assertion that Vegadelphia’s phrase was a “weak mark” with “no commercial strength” and ruling that the Dunkin’ ad would likely confuse consumers.
After the verdict in November, Beyond filed a motion to either reduce or eliminate the damages owed, while Vegadelphia sought prejudgment interest and an increase in the disgorgement award.
Talwani granted Beyond’s request in part, and denied both of the latter’s motions. “No reasonable jury could find it probable, based on non-speculative evidence, that Beyond’s infringement of Sonate’s trademark was a substantial factor in the abandonment of Vegadelphia 2.0,” she stated in her ruling.
Beyond eyes turnaround following end of latest legal dispute
This is far from the first legal battle the Beyond Burger maker has been embroiled in. In 2024, it settled a class-action lawsuit for $7.5M against claims that it had overstated its products’ nutritional benefits, since the protein digestibility of its meat analogues was lower than that of conventional meat.
And last year, a judge threw out a class-action lawsuit by investors who alleged the company misled them about its manufacturing capacities, leading to artificially inflated stock prices.
Beyond has also won a legal dispute against a former co-manufacturer over the termination of a production agreement, with a judge validating its decision to end the deal and denying the latter’s request to reopen the arbitration. At the same time, it is being investigated by a law firm for “potential violations of the federal securities laws”.
The 15.4M sum it owes to Vegadelphia, though reduced, is still substantial for a financially distressed company like Beyond. For context, it posted revenues of $68.8M in Q2 2026 – the damages account for 22% of this amount.
The company has suffered from six consecutive quarters of shrinking revenue and a record-low share price that needed an artificial boost just to stay afloat on the Nasdaq market. To revive its fortunes, it has expanded, well, beyond meat to offer sparkling protein drinks, protein powders and bars, as well as veggie burgers.
