Trademarks, Trademark Infringement, Beverage Manufacturers

Brewed in San Diego: Trademark Lessons from America's Craft Beer Capital and Beyond

Foley Hoag LLP - Making Your Mark on 5/13/2025

This year, the INTA Annual Meeting lands in sunny San Diego, California—a city known not only for its breathtaking coastline, laid-back vibe, and rich cultural diversity, but also for its dynamic landscape of iconic brands...more

Does Anyone Here Have A Sense Of Humor, Redux: Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Oral Argument

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets on 3/28/2023

On March 22, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the trademark parody case captioned Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC. As we previously blogged, the issues presented in the care are: ...more

Certiorari Granted to Jack Daniel’s with Respect to Parody Dog Toy: Does Anyone Here Have a Sense of Humor, and Does it Matter?

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets on 1/20/2023

On November 21, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on the following questions described in Jack Daniel’s petition: Respondent VIP Products LLC markets and sells dog toys that trade on the brand recognition of...more

Proving Reputational Injury Without Use of the Marks in the United States

Knobbe Martens on 7/1/2022

MEENAXI ENTERPRISE, INC. v. THE COCA-COLA COMPANY - Before Dyk, Reyna, and Stoll. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: To maintain a statutory cause of action under the Lanham Act for activities...more

Trademark Disputes Continue to Brew

Proskauer - Minding Your Business on 4/14/2022

Stone Brewing has used STONE as a trademark since the early 1990s, and has since become the largest brewery in Southern California and ninth largest craft brewery in the U.S. Fast forward to 2017, when MillerCoors rebranded...more

Intellectual Property Law News Alert: Craft Brewer Stone Brewing Co. wins $56 Million Jury Verdict for Trademark Infringement...

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP on 3/29/2022

A jury awarded a $56 million verdict for trademark infringement to an independent craft brewer against the world’s fifth largest beer company on March 25, 2022. The verdict highlights the damage to a smaller business when a...more

A Refresher On The Importance Of Trademarks And Trade Dress In The Food And Beverage Industry

McCarter & English, LLP on 9/14/2020

The quality, taste, and appearance of food and beverage products are important, but there are other aspects of those products that also contribute to, and even sustain, their commercial success. In particular, the...more

Trademark Claim for Profit Damages Means No Jury Trial

McDermott Will & Schulte on 6/11/2020

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a denial of a jury trial demand in a trademark infringement lawsuit where only a claim of disgorgement of profits was at issue. JL Beverage Company, LLC v. Jim Beam...more

District Court of Hamburg: Swabian whisky not allowed to use the word “glen” in its name

Hogan Lovells on 4/15/2019

Since 2013, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has tried to prohibit the Swabian whisky producer Waldhornbrennerei, which is based in Berglen near Stuttgart, from using the trade mark “Glen Buchenbach”. ...more

Food & Beverage Litigation Update l January 2019

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 1/18/2019

LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - USDA Releases GMO Labeling Standard - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service has released the final National Bioengineered Food Disclosure...more

Can I Use Song Lyrics in a Beer Name?

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC on 1/18/2019

Beer and music go together – always have and always will. Lots of brewers draw inspiration from song and many have used lyrics or even titles to name beers or even their breweries. For example, the superlative Singlecut...more

Distilling the Relatedness of Spirits, Wines and Beer – The Lack of a Bright-Line Rule - Food, Beverage & Hospitality Alert

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 12/14/2018

The alcohol industry has seen a veritable explosion in trademark filings from craft and independent brewers, distillers and wineries. This upsurge means trademarks are coming into conflict more and more often in the...more

Has the General Court let the genie out of the bottle with its latest judgment on shape marks?

Hogan Lovells on 11/2/2018

The General Court has recently decided an interesting case concerning the distinctiveness of a shape mark ....more

U.S. – Reframing the Test for Genericness in the Soft Drink Wars

Hogan Lovells on 7/19/2018

Royal Crown Co., Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Co., 2018 WL 3040163 (Fed. Cir. June 20, 2018) - In late June, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in the year-long litigation between Royal Crown Co., Inc. (“RC”) and The...more

Setting the right example: China’s Supreme People’s Court selects the top 10 IP cases of 2017

Hogan Lovells on 6/28/2018

China’s Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) has recently published its list of the “top 10 significant IP cases” for 2017, which it has done yearly since 2007. ...more

Intellectual Property - Trademark - The World in US Courts: Spring 2018

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 5/8/2018

Global Injunction Against Trademark Infringement Upheld Because Both Parties Were US Companies, Confusion in EU Would Be Felt in the US, and Defendant’s EU Trademark Had Not Yet Issued....more

Following the Stone Brewing-MillerCoors Trademark Dispute: MillerCoors Responds

Bowditch & Dewey on 5/1/2018

A recent blog post chronicled the trademark infringement action Stone Brewing had initiated against MillerCoors for its marketing of Keystone Light, which allegedly emphasized the word “STONE” in a confusing manner....more

Like a Rolling STONE: Stone Brewing’s Trademark Dispute with MillerCoors

Bowditch & Dewey on 4/10/2018

Stone Brewing—widely known for its popular IPA and other craft brews—recently cast the first stone in a trademark dispute with the conglomerate that owns Keystone. In its complaint for trademark infringement, Stone Brewing...more

Food & Beverage Litigation Update | April 2018 #2

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. on 4/9/2018

China to Tariff U.S. Food Commodities - China has reportedly imposed tariffs on imports of U.S.-made agricultural products, including pork, soybeans, wheat, beef, orange juice, whiskey and corn, following the United...more

What’s In a Name: The Bell’s v. Innovation Trademark Naming Dispute

Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers,... on 3/14/2018

Selecting a unique, memorable, and descriptive name for your next beer release is becoming a daunting task in the increasingly-crowded craft brewing landscape. ...more

Captain Morgan makes Admiral Nelson’s walk the plank

Smart & Biggar on 6/22/2017

Smart & Biggar prevails at trial on behalf of Diageo in trade dress case. On June 12, 2017, the Federal Court issued its 99-page decision in Diageo Canada Inc v Heaven Hill Distilleries Inc et al, 2017 FC 571. The Court...more

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