Maitake Products Sues Tradeworks, JHS Over Mushroom Claims

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.--Maitake Products filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Brattleboro, Vt.-based Tradeworks Group and Eugene, Ore.-based JHS Natural Products. The lawsuit alleges that Tradeworks and JHS have engaged in false and misleading advertising, and have infringed on Maitake Products' registered trademark. Each of the companies supplies extracts of maitake mushroom.

Maitake Products supplies Maitake D-Fraction®, while Tradeworks and JHS offer MaitakeGold and MD-Fraction. According to Maitake Products, Tradeworks and JHS advertised their products as the extract used in clinical studies on D-fraction (a beta glucan). "Our D-Fraction has been the base for almost all science of maitake mushroom for the last 12 to 15 years," said Mike Shirota, president and chief executive of Maitake Products. The Maitake complaint also claims that use of the term "MD-Fraction" in advertising and promotional materials will cause confusion with the Maitake D-Fraction trademark.

Tradeworks released a statement in response to the complaint. "The announcement and the complaint contain nothing more than unproven allegations made by a competitor," it read. "We certainly expect to refute these allegations and . expect to resolve various grievances we have with [Maitake Products] in response." When contacted by INSIDER, a spokesman said there would be no further comment at this time beyond the statement.

A representative from JHS Natural Products told INSIDER that the company had no comment on the lawsuit at this time.