Category: Patent and Trademark Office
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Texas Rangers Oppose Bacardi’s Application for Stylized “T” Trademark
Rangers Baseball LLC filed then suspended an opposition to Bacardi & Co.’s application to register a trademark for a logo featuring the letter “T,” stylized to feature points extruding from the middle of the character. Opposition No. 91229825 (USPTO, suspended September 2, 2016). The Texas Major League Baseball team filed its notice of opposition on…
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Boston Beer Co. Seeks to Trademark “Brexit”
One day after U.K. citizens voted to leave the European Union, Samuel Adams® brewer Boston Beer Co. filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register “Brexit” for use on hard cider products. U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 87083390 (filed June 24, 2016). Two other applications for Brexit marks were filed the…
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TTAB Refuses to Register Mark for Beer Logo with Empire State Building
Siding with the owners of the Empire State Building, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has refused to register a logo for “NYC Beer” featuring a drawing of the building. ESRT Empire State Bldg. v. Liang, No. 91204122 (T.T.A.B., order entered June 17, 2016). Claiming ownership of a trademark in a line drawing featuring the…
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Jimi Hendrix Estate Sues Distillery for “Purple Haze Liqueur”
Experience Hendrix has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Tiger Paw Distributors, Private Label Distillery and Leon Hendrix, Jimi’s brother, for selling an alcohol product called “Purple Haze Liqueur.” Experience Hendrix v. Tiger Paw Distrib., No. 16-0642 (N.D. Ga., filed February 29, 2016). Experience Hendrix, established by Jimi’s father and now owned by Jimi’s sister and cousin,…
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Bacardi Files FOIA Request for “Havana Club” Trademark Determination
Bacardi Ltd. has reportedly filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on the renewal of a trademark registration for “Havana Club” granted to Empresa Cubana Exportadora de Alimentos y Productos Varios (“Cubaexport”), a Cuban government-owned entity. Cubaexport had filed for a renewal in 2006, but the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets…
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Soy Fiber Food Additive Too Obvious for Patent, Appeals Court Confirms
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling that a method of enzymatic hydrolysis of soy fiber for use in creating food additives is not patentable because it would have been obvious in light of previous inventions. In re Urbanski, No. 15-1272 (Fed. Cir., order…
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Jim Beam Files Opposition to “Double Oaked” Trademark Application
Jim Beam Brands Co. has filed a notice of opposition against an application filed by Brown-Forman Corp., maker of Jack Daniels®, to trademark Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a bourbon product aged in two charred-oak barrels. Jim Beam Brands Co. v. Brown-Forman Corp., Serial No. 86/450,636 (T.T.A.B., notice of opposition filed October 19, 2015). Jim Beam…
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Fireball® Makers Challenge “Fire Flask” Malt Beverage
Sazerac Co., maker of Fireball® cinnamon whiskey, has filed a trademark infringement action against Stout Brewing Co. alleging that the brewer’s Fire Flask displays trademarks and trade dress designed to look like Fireball®. Sazerac Co., Inc. v. Stout Brewing Co., No. 15-0107 (W.D. Ky., filed August 14, 2015). Fire Flask is a malt beer product…