U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman held that Vas Leonidov, a co-founder of Virogex Inc., was never a shareholder and that the company’s trademarks—including PETMECTIN and VIR-X—belong to Virogex, not Leonidov or his new venture, ResolvX Health Inc.
The ruling comes after an evidentiary hearing where the court found Leonidov’s testimony regarding share ownership not credible. The court determined Virogex issued 10,500,000 shares held by founders Sidney and Alicia Belzberg and consultant Margareta Linden, rejecting Leonidov’s claim that he owned half the company.
Leonidov, who served as Virogex’s sole director and president, created ResolvX after closing Virogex’s bank account and attempting to dissolve the Delaware corporation in April 2025. He began selling identical products under the ResolvX brand, claiming Virogex’s goods were counterfeit.
Virogex sought a preliminary injunction to stop ResolvX from using the marks and directing consumer traffic to its own website. Liman granted the motion in part, finding Virogex likely to succeed on its Lanham Act claims.
The court found Virogex had priority of use for the marks, which it first used in commerce between 2021 and 2024. Liman held that Leonidov’s design and marketing efforts were performed in his capacity as an officer and director, meaning the goodwill belonged to the corporation, not him individually.
“Trademark rights ‘are not accorded in gross,’” Liman wrote, citing Jackpocket, Inc. v. Lottomatrix NY LLC. “It thus is immaterial whether it was Leonidov or Belzberg who ‘owned’ or created the Marks, if in fact, the Marks were first used by Virogex.”
The judge also rejected Leonidov’s argument that the marks’ secondary meaning attached to his Substack newsletter, “2nd Smartest Guy in the World,” rather than Virogex. Liman held that while the newsletter drove sales, the law attributes trademark rights to the entity that uses the mark in commerce, not the individual who promotes it.
Leonidov had argued that he was the rightful owner because he designed the packaging and controlled the sales channels. Liman dismissed this, noting that an employee who designs a mark of employment does not own it.
The court also found Virogex had capacity to sue, rejecting Leonidov’s claim that the board was improperly constituted. Liman held that the Belzbergs and Linden validly removed Leonidov as director and authorized the lawsuit.
Sidney Belzberg, Virogex’s former CEO, had suffered strokes and was incapacitated during the dispute, according to testimony. Liman found that emails referring to “equal partners” referred to a profit-sharing arrangement, not equity ownership.
The case remains pending on the merits.