Category: Issue 655
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U.S. Customs Issues Rule on Coffee Bean Sourcing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a final determination that the country of origin of coffee beans is the country in which the coffee beans are roasted. CBP ruled that “roasting green coffee beans substantially transforms the beans into a new and different article of commerce.” The agency issues country-of-origin rulings “for the…
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Sazerac Opposes Trademark for “St. Paddy’s Brigade” Liquors
Sazerac Brands has filed a notice of opposition to ROSC Global’s application to trademark “St. Paddy’s Brigade” for agave liquor, arguing that consumers are likely to confuse the mark with Sazerac’s “Paddy” line of Irish whiskies. Sazerac Brands LLC v. ROSC Global, LLC, No. 91237863 (T.T.A.B., filed November 16, 2017). ROSC Global applied for the…
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Beech-Nut Pulls Baby Food Ads
The Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. has reportedly told the National Advertising Division (NAD) it will no longer use the terms “natural,” “sensitive” and “complete” nutrition or claim that its baby cereals have zero grams of sugar, were “formulated to be gentle on baby’s tummy,” and have “all the tastiness of oatmeal with smaller proteins that are…
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Frito-Lay “All Natural” Settlement Gets Final Approval
A federal court in New York has given final approval to the settlement of multidistrict litigation that alleged Frito-Lay North America, Inc. deceptively labeled and marketed its chip and dip products as “Made with All Natural Ingredients” when the products contained genetically modified ingredients. Frito-Lay N. Am., Inc., “All Natural” Litig., No. 12-MD-2413 (E.D.N.Y., entered…
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Court Provides Roadmap for Plaintiff to Amend False Claims Suit Against Tea Company
A federal court in California has deferred ruling on the motion to dismiss filed in a consumer protection lawsuit against R.C. Bigelow, Inc. to give the plaintiff an opportunity to amend her complaint. Khasin v. R.C. Bigelow, Inc., No. 12-2204 (N.D. Cal., order entered February 6, 2013). Indicating that it was inclined to allow most…
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Court Orders Attorney to Cease Facebook® Criticism of Halal Fraud Settlement
A Michigan court has reportedly entered an order specifying what will appear on the Facebook® page of the attorney who filed a complaint seeking to set aside a settlement resolving claims that a McDonald’s Corp. franchisee purported to sell halal chicken when some of the products were not prepared according to Islamic law. Additional details…
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Anheuser-Busch to Sell Brewery and U.S. Beer Rights to Fend Off DOJ Antitrust Claims
In the wake of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking to enjoin the acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI) has reportedly agreed to sell a massive Modelo brewery, including full U.S. rights to the Corona® and Modelo® brands, to Constellation Brands, said to be the world’s…
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Ninth Circuit Returns Contaminated Burger Case to District Court
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court ruling dismissing the emotional distress claims filed by a deputy sheriff who alleged that Burger King employees served him a hamburger tainted with spit, in light of a Washington Supreme Court ruling that the state’s product liability law would allow relief for emotional distress…