A common theme in the age of the Internet is a concept known as cybersquatting (or domain squatting). Simply put, cybersquatting entails the registration of a domain name in bad faith, i.e., registering a domain name of a trademark with the intent to later sell the domain to the company…
Tag: trademark law
A Scarlet and The Scarlet Letter: The Story of In re Steele Wines, Inc.
In July of 2012, Steele Wines, Inc. filed an application to register a mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asserting use in commerce since May 2012. See 15. U.S.C. § 1051(a). The mark, which is pictured below, features the words, “A Scarlet 2009 Lake County Red Wine” with a woman in…
From Water to Wine (Trademark): Joel Gott Wines v. Rehoboth Von Gott
On June 26, 2013, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) found a likelihood of confusion between the marks JOEL GOTT and GOTT LIGHT. Rehoboth Von Gott, Inc. filed an application with USPTO to register the mark GOTT LIGHT for nutritionally fortified water…
Osawa Wines Wins Labeling Dispute Against Chateau Mouton Rothschild Estate for Flying Mouton Label
Recently, Osawa Wines won a labeling dispute against Chateau Mouton Rothschild Estate. The disagreement, which spawned over the use of the wine label Flying Mouton, originated in 2008 when Osawa started producing a new alcohol beverage product with a Flying Mouton wine label. Shortly thereafter, Chateau Mouton Rothschild estate filed…
Additional Transnational Wine Trade Agreements
In the past, with respect to transnational wine trade agreements, many of On Reserve’s entries discuss the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”), the Agreement Between the European Community and the United States of American on Trade in Wine, and the Agreement Between the European Community and…
Upcoming Trip to Porto, Portugal and the Legal Protections of Port Wine
An epic adventure awaits me this upcoming week as I travel to Porto, Portugal, courtesy of Center for Wine Origins of Washington, D.C., to learn about the legal protections Portugal is pursuing to protect its highly-esteemed wine called Port. Port wine, under the federal law of the United States, is…
Wine Law Seminar in Texas October 20th & 21st and a Special ‘On Reserve’ Discount
Law Seminars International presents the Third Annual Comprehensive Conference on Texas Wine Law, to be hosted in Austin, Texas this October 20th and 21st at the Hilton Austin Hotel. It is recommended that “[a]ttorneys, vineyard operators, grape growers, wine producers and distributors, government regulators involved with the production and distribution…
Trademark Infringement Suit Filed in California Court Between “Mommyjuice” and “Mommy’s Time Out”
On Monday, a lawsuit was filed in a federal court in California claiming that the “Mommyjuice” of California-based winery Clos Lachance Wines violates the trademark of “Mommy’s Time Out,” a wine marketed by a New Jersey wine distributor. (See Wine for “Mommy” Sets off Trademark Fight.) Both “Mommyjuice” and “Mommy’s Time Out”…
Changyu Wine Ends 10-Year Dispute Over Entitlement to Cabernet Trademark
Recently, Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine ended a 10-year dispute with six wine companies over legal entitlement to the Cabernet trademark (解百纳 or phonetically, “Jie Bai Na”). The dispute over the trademark questioned whether Changyu could dominate the Cabernet trademark as its common ingredient used to produce wine and as a common…
Chicago-Kent College of Law: War on Terroir
The Chicago-Kent College of Law Intellectual Property Law Society recently presented a lecture on geographical indications pertinent to wine law titled, “Geographical Indications of Origin and Trademark Law as they Pertain to Artisanal Cheese and Wine.” The professors featured in the following lecture are Professors Sarah Harding and Christopher Buccafusco….