Kentucky Distillers’s Association Sues Sazerac

[bourbonv]

The law suit has been filed and it is over the use of the term "Kentucky Bourbon Trail". Sazerac is trying to negate the KDA trademark of the term. If that happens then anybody can place themselves on the "Kentucky Bourbon Trail" and we could see the"Kentucky Bourbon Trail Wendy's" and the "Kentucky Bourbon Trail Sewer Service" since anybody will be able to use the term. The KDA is fighting to save their trademark.

Mike Veach

[OscarV]

The KDA is fighting to save their trademark.

Mike Veach

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

That seems perfectly resonable.

I wish KDA a success in court.

[pepcycle]

Why does Sazerac have to infringe?

Because they chose to opt out of THE bourbon trail.

Why are they out?

Because they don't get any benefit from KDA?

Why not?

Who knows?

My point is that if KDA wants distilleries in and to supprt their trail, then they should support other cities besides Bardstown.

[craigthom]

While I agree that the KDA needs to do things outside Bardstown, Sazerac now has a large distillery there and will have the same benefit that Heaven Hill and Jim Beam do.

It would be nice if the festival was held every other year in Lawrenceburg. There are two distilleries there and two more close enough.

[Stu]

There's a lot of planning, expense, and work to do putting on an event like KBF. Do the other cities want to do it? Do they have the money, facilities, manpower, and local interest to do it? Louisville or Lawrenceburg could easily host an activity at a non conflicting time if they so desire. I think the reason Bardstown has it is because they have the manpower, facilities (including the Getz), time, etc to do it. They also have a spark plug in their tourist bureau named Johanna. Any city wishing to vie with them would also need such a spark plug.

My two cents worth, and I'll give you two pennies change.

[cowdery]

I can't seem to get to the bottom of this dispute but I can tell you it has very little to do with the Kentucky Bourbon Festival or any perceived regional favoritism on the part of the KDA.

[OscarV]

Here's another little addition to the story.

The first Laky of KY announced that 17 new highway signs to direct people to bourbon distilleries as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Sure enough, no BT.

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/25/1406087/new-signs-to-mark-kentuckey-bourbon-trail.html#ixzz0xiuTPgw5

[Bourbon Boiler]

Here's another little addition to the story.

The first Laky of KY announced that 17 new highway signs to direct people to bourbon distilleries as part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Sure enough, no BT.

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/25/1406087/new-signs-to-mark-kentuckey-bourbon-trail.html#ixzz0xiuTPgw5

[Josh]

Anybody have any updates on this business?

[OscarV]

Anybody have any updates on this business?

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

Yeah, where's Mike AKA BourbonV?

He always has the latest on this kind of stuff.

[OscarV]

Almost a year later, any word on what this was all about?

[p_elliott]

It was over an advertising campaign that BT wanted to use.

[Josh]

It was over an advertising campaign that BT wanted to use.

Anywhere we can find information on that?

[callmeox]

Anywhere we can find information on that?

I was wondering the same thing.

Do tell.

[Tucker]

Anywhere we can find information on that?

A good summary of the initial complaint can be found here (you have to scroll down a good bit).

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-07/rolls-royce-utc-apple-victoria-s-secret-sazerac-intellectual-property.html

[barturtle]

This is what it's all about:

[Josh]

Ah...I see.

I still don't get why Saz pulled out of the KDA in the first place. Diageo is a member for chrissakes.

[barturtle]

Browsing the KDA site, I find this statement interesting

Consolidation has reduced KDA’s current membership to six companies, representing seven distilleries, which together produce 95 percent of the world’s Bourbon: Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Brown-Forman, Diageo North America, Four Roses, Heaven Hill, and Wild Turkey.

Surely BT/Barton/Independents account for more than 5%?

[jburlowski]

A settlement has been reached:

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111117/NEWS0103/111180316/Dispute-over-Kentucky-Bourbon-Trail-settled

[Josh]

We still don't know why Saz withdrew from the KDA in the first place, or what the precise source of the bad blood between Saz and the KDA. I think Chuck suggested there may have been some tension between Saz and HH based on their former contract relationship.

[p_elliott]

Josh

Sazerac and KDA got into a fight over a copyright infringement. BT wanted to use the line "on the bourbon trail" in their ads. KDA said you can't do that it's our copyright. They got mad at each other law suits were filed and BT and Sazerac pulled out of the KDA. The suit has been settled out of court with BT being able to use that ad.

[cowdery]

Trademark, not copyright, and that's what the lawsuit was about.

I don't think the bad blood between Sazerac and HH had anything to do with it and I never suggested that it did. That's not so much institutional as it is personal, i.e., an old grudge between Max Shapira and Bill Goldring.

Sazerac says KDA membership is expensive and they believe that money can be better spent in other ways.

No one seems to really know (or will say) except to speculate that Sazerac felt its influence within the KDA wasn't what it should be.

The settlement appears to mean that neither side is going to waste time and money on futile lawsuits, but that doesn't mean all is now well. There has been no talk of Sazerac rejoining KDA, for example. Sazerac also appears to have abandoned its own attempt to re-trademark 'bourbon trail' as part of its own tourism 'brand.'

The settlement is more like a ceasefire than a peace treaty.

[Josh]

I didn't mean to imply that I thought the lawsuit simply the result of "bad blood" or that Chuck thought it was. It was just nosiness on my part. I was interested in the nature and origins of the aforementioned "bad blood". Thanks for answering my questions, Chuck, and thanks for the rest of the information.

[p_elliott]

Trademark / Copyright I was close but no cigar :grin: I'm not a lawyer like you Chuck. I know the difference now that you pointed it out.

[cowdery]

I've never understood exactly what happened between Sazerac and Heaven Hill. I think it was because Sazerac bought BT and stopped buying bourbon from HH. Something like that.