Tennessee - Jack Daniels Claims Competitor ‘Dilutes’ Whiskey Business

When US President Donald Trump launched a twitter tirade a few months ago threatening to start a global trade war and impose duties products ranging from aluminium to steel (which he has since done) over to German cars, the European Commission, via it’s President Jean-Claude Juncker responded in kind that it would then launch import duties on all American brand products like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Levi’s jeans, orange juice from Florida and Jack Daniels whiskey.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Every drop is charcoal mellowed to make it smooth. And every bit of that charcoal is made in Lynchburg, Tennessee. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JackDaniels?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JackDaniels</a> <a href="https://t.co/KLVj7QbphI">pic.twitter.com/KLVj7QbphI</a></p>&mdash; Jack Daniel&#39;s (@JackDaniels_US) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackDaniels_US/status/990993809948454912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Yes, the Tennessee whiskey brand has gone global and therefore aims to protect its business model. When the parent company of Jack Daniels noticed as of late that a new bottle of whisky was launched just like its own, it started a patent infringement suit, claiming that the “most iconic consumer product in American history” should be protected against a competitor from Texas, named ‘Lonehand’.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jack Daniels v. Lonehand complaint. Jack Daniels is asserting broad trade dress rights in its bottle and design:<a href="https://t.co/jiHdUcOD3u">https://t.co/jiHdUcOD3u</a></p>&mdash; (((Mark Jaffe))) (@MarkJKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkJKings/status/988844726555033601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Jack Daniels claims that Lonehand's bottle design (including, according to its lawsuit, the “neck wrap closure” and “arched lettering”) is made in such a similar fashion to its own bottle that it ends up “diluting” its product.

Mr Seth Berenzweig, a business attorney who has pleaded intellectual property infringement cases before, commented: “This is a unique case that has a very powerful twist. You have the unique dimension that the defendants in this case actually asked that their product be placed directly alongside the Jack Daniels product.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Funny enough a friend brought a bottle of Lonehand to a get together this past weekend and said to me: &quot;This is either a Jack Daniels product or trademark infringement, right?&quot; My friends know me well…and of course we drank it anyway.</p>&mdash; Darius C. Gambino (@PhillyIP) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyIP/status/988396172653088768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2018</a></blockquote>

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“They’re going to be using that evidence to try and drive home the point that the defendants knew exactly what they were doing in order to try and deprive these sales from the folks at Jack Daniels.”

Source:

http://www.standardrepublic.com/news/top-news-jack-daniels-claims-competitors-look-alike-whiskey-bottle-dilutes-its-model/