BLK Water Lawsuit: Inside the Manzo-Laurita Trademark Fight

The BLK Water lawsuit was a 2011 federal case in which a Vancouver company, Creative Thinkers Inc., accused the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast members behind BLK Brands LLC of stealing its concept and trademark for a fulvic- and humic-acid-infused black bottled water. Creative Thinkers filed the complaint on December 15, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, naming Chris Manzo, Albie Manzo, Chris Laurita, BLK Brands LLC, and sisters Jacqueline and Louise Wilkie as defendants.¹

The Product at the Center of the Case

The disputed product is bottled water infused with fulvic and humic acid, compounds derived from decomposed organic matter. The infusion turns the water temporarily dark before the minerals settle, which gives the beverage its distinctive black appearance.

Creative Thinkers, owned by Ivan Solomon and Gordon Jung, said it created the process in 2009 and began test-marketing the product under the name “BLACKWATER” in major food stores. In November 2009, according to the company, Creative Thinkers signed an agreement with Jacqueline and Louise Wilkie to bottle the water and shared confidential product information with them under a non-disclosure agreement.¹

The Wilkie sisters told a different story. They said they had independently developed the product in 2008 after their mother’s recovery from terminal bone cancer while using fulvic concentrate powder.² Creative Thinkers called that origin account fabricated and made it central to its fraud claim.

How the Housewives Cast Got Involved

According to Albie Manzo, he and his uncle Chris Laurita met the Wilkie sisters at the 2010 Fancy Food Show in New York, where the sisters were pouring the dark beverage for passersby from a booth.³ After that meeting, the Manzo-Laurita family and the Wilkies formed BLK Brands LLC, with Chris Laurita as president and CEO. The company launched in 2011 and used the family’s Bravo platform to promote the drink, featuring it during the third season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.⁴

Creative Thinkers alleged that after the trade show encounter, the “Blackwater” trademark registration was illegitimately transferred to the new company, and that the Wilkie sisters walked away from the earlier agreement with Solomon and Jung after demanding larger ownership stakes.⁴

What Creative Thinkers Alleged

The complaint, brought together with Creative Thinkers’ affiliate Blackwater Innovations Corp., raised four main claims. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman partners Bobby A. Ghajar and Mark D. Litvack represented the plaintiffs.¹

Trademark infringement and unfair competition, based on the alleged misappropriation of the “BLACKWATER” mark to sell the competing “blk.” product.
Breach of contract, based on the Wilkie sisters’ alleged violation of the November 2009 confidentiality agreement.
Breach of fiduciary duty, based on the Wilkies allegedly abandoning their obligations to Creative Thinkers after teaming up with the Manzo-Laurita family.
Fraud, based on the allegation that the defendants promoted a fabricated origin story tied to the Wilkies’ mother’s cancer recovery and used the family’s television fame to sell that narrative.²

Creative Thinkers sought recovery of profits and goodwill it said had been wrongfully taken, along with unspecified actual and punitive damages, and an injunction stopping sales of the blk. beverage.⁵

BLK Brands Sued First

BLK Brands had actually filed suit before Creative Thinkers did. After Creative Thinkers sent a cease-and-desist letter in July 2011, BLK brought its own action asserting trademark infringement and unfair competition claims against the Canadian company and seeking a declaratory judgment establishing its independence from it.²¹ Albie Manzo publicly denied Creative Thinkers’ allegations and said Creative Thinkers had stolen the idea from the Wilkie sisters, not the other way around.⁴

What Happened After

The public record does not show a ruling, settlement, or dismissal in the Creative Thinkers case. As of the last contemporaneous reporting in late 2011 and early 2012, the claims and counterclaims on both sides were active in federal court.² Creative Thinkers’ owners said at the time of filing that they intended to keep expanding their BLACKWATER line.¹

BLK Beverages kept operating. The company announced a brand extension into new product categories in 2013 and later moved its headquarters to Calabasas, California.⁶ As of 2026, it remains listed as a private corporation with roughly 52 employees, selling waters, coconut waters, and juices infused with fulvic minerals, though some of its products are listed as unavailable on major retail platforms.⁷

1
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Canadian Firm Files Lawsuit Against Real Housewives of New Jersey Stars
2
The Hollywood Reporter. Real Housewives of New Jersey Lawsuit: Manzo, Blackwater
3
DC Life Magazine. A Walk on the Dark Side With Albie Manzo
4
NJ.com. Real Housewives of New Jersey Stars Sued Over Drink Concept
5
NBC News. Real Housewives of New Jersey Stars Accused of Stealing Drink Idea
6
BevNET. BLK Beverages Announces Brand Extension
7
Amazon. blk. Beverages Store