The USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) recently issued three relevant decisions to the wine, beer, and spirits industries. The decisions are summarized below. In re El Galan, Inc., Serial No. 86961428 (February 1, 2018) [not precedential]: El Galan, Inc. (“Applicant”) sought registration of the mark TERNURA in standard…
CLE International Conference on Wine, Beer & Spirits Law in Chicago, Illinois
CLE International is again hosting its Wine, Beer, and Spirits CLE. This year, the program will take place in Chicago on October 4th and 5th at the Millennium Knickerbocker hotel. Attendees can earn up to 12 hours of MCLE credits including one hour of ethics. Registration is currently open and…
Recent Wine, Beer, and Spirits Decisions by the USPTO TTAB
The USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) recently issued three relevant decisions to the wine, beer, and spirits industries. The decisions are summarized below. In In re Harlequin Enterprises Limited, Serial No. 86761280 (September 7, 2017) [not precedential], Applicant (Harlequin Enterprises Limited, a purveyor of romance novels) sought to register a design…
2017 Wine & Law Program at the University of Reims in Champagne, France
In October, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Champagne region and teaching a course on U.S. Trademark Law at the University of Reims’ Wine & Law Program. The University of Reims’ Wine & Law Program is directed by Professor Theodore Georgopoulos and consists of a full-year program (Master’s Degree)…
Study the Business of Wine in Santiago, Chile and Call for Contributors or Co-Authors
Dr. Kevin Fandl, Assistant Professor and Academic Director of Global Immersion Programs at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, recently reached out to share an exciting opportunity in Santiago, Chile this January along with a call for contributes or co-authors. Temple University’s CIBER is offering Faculty Development in International Business (FDIB): Study…
TTB Revises Guidance Document on Personalized Labels
On September 5, 2017, TTB issued a new public guidance document, TTB G 2017-2, for personalized labels which the agency said supersedes its prior guidance TTB G 2011-05 but does not “completely change the underlying policy.” See TTB Public Guidance, TTB G 2017-2, Personalized Labels. Per TTB, the new guidance…
Federal Compliance Update at the 2018 Eastern Winery Expo
Join Marybeth Williams of Williams Compliance and me at the 2018 Eastern Winery Expo in Lancaster, Pennsylvania March 6th through 8th for an update on federal winery compliance. A description of our event is provided below. “They want me to do WHAT!?!?” How to remain afloat in the winding river of…
TTB Opens Comment Period for Three Proposed Wine Rules
On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, TTB announced that it would reopen comment period for three relevant proposed rules for the wine industry. The proposed rules were originally published in the Federal Register in 2016. The following rules have their comment periods reopened: Notice No. 160, Proposed Revisions to Wine Labeling and…
2017 Wine & Law Program in Champagne, France this October
This year, the University of Reims’ Wine & Law Program is in its seventh session and will discuss topics related to trademarks and intellectual property rights in the wine and spirits sector. The Program is a 6-day intensive course program in English from October 9, 2017 through October 14, 2017 at the Université de…
USPTO Finds a Likelihood of Confusion for HOODWINKED for Beer and HOODWINKED for Wine
Fetzer Vineyards (“Applicant”) recently sought registration in standard character mark for HOODWINKED on the Principal Register for wine in International Class 33. In re Fetzer Vineyards, Serial No. 86789970 (June 22, 2017) [not precedential]. Originally, the Trademark Examining Attorney refused registration of the mark under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act…