A story of nutritional supplements, and untruths

Del-Immune V®, a nutritional supplement evolving from a half-century of research in Bulgaria, Russia, the Ukraine and the United States, has been shown to help people obtain substantially enhanced results from their immune system. Thousands of people in the U.S. and a dozen other countries use the product, and many doctors recommend Del-Immune V to their patients. Extensive research indicates that Del-Immune V can jump-start the body’s natural protective defense capabilities against various types of foreign invaders.

In 1999, the probiotic technology behind Del-Immune V was brought from Russia to America by a retired Boulder, Colorado pharmacist. The pharmacist formed a company called Pure Research Products, LLC to produce and market Del-Immune V. In 2003, product manufacturing was moved from St. Petersburg, Russia to Vivolac Laboratories located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In February 2004, the pharmacist met with representatives from a company called Allergy Research Group, Inc. (ARG), a Florida corporation which does business under the name Nutricology. ARG began promoting Del-Immune V and purchased it from Pure Research Products for sale to ARG’s customers and the general public under the brand name Delta Immune, as authorized by Pure Research Products.

In November 2004, Pure Research Products, realizing they disagreed with ARG’s business practices, stopped selling Del-Immune V to ARG and informed ARG they were no longer authorized to use the names Del-Immune V or Delta Immune. In a short period of no more than four months, ARG found a substitute product source in Vietnam. ARG then began marketing the product under the name Russian Choice Immune with the words “formerly Delta Immune.” Marketing materials for Russian Choice Immune contained nearly verbatim language as ARG’s advertising for Delta Immune, effectively implying that Delta Immune, Russian Choice Immune and Del-Immune V were identical.

Pure Research Products objected and brought a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (civil action No. 06-cv-00381-RPM) claiming unfair competition under a federal statute called the Lanham Act. The jury in the case found in favor of Pure Research Products, agreeing that ARG violated the Lanham Act by falsely designating the origin of Russian Choice Immune and by falsely advertising the product.