February 2013

Alcohol Beverage Law Conference in Denver, Colorado on March 18, 2013 (CLE International)

by Lindsey A. Zahn on February 22, 2013

Screen Shot 2013 02 21 at 8.27.04 PM 300x194 Alcohol Beverage Law Conference in Denver, Colorado on March 18, 2013 (CLE International)CLE International is hosting an Alcohol Beverage Law Conference in Denver on March 18, 2013 at the Four Seasons Hotel. The conference is co-chaired by Adam P. Stapen and Patrick D. Tooley and will cover Colorado wine, beer, and spirits. The conference will present topics such as Navigating the Agencies, Consumer Promotions, Land Use and Alcohol, Ethics, The Colorado Wine Industry, and Business Valuation. The conference includes up to seven hours of MCLE credit, including one hour of Ethics. To register, please visit www.cle.com/AlcoholBeverage or call (800) 873-7130. A copy of the brochure is available here.

Permanent link to this post (93 words, 1 image, estimated 22 secs reading time)

{ 1 comment }

Wine Law Updates: Restaurants Sue Wine Storage Facility, Revealing Seller’s Name at Auction, and Calorie Labeling for Wine in the UK

by Lindsey A. Zahn on February 14, 2013

Some very interesting updates over the last week have occurred for the wine and law community. Below are three of the most interesting, involving a wine storage facility, potential new rules at auction, and calorie labels in the United Kingdom.

East Coast Restaurants Sue WineCare Storage Facility for $2 Million of Wine After Hurricane Sandy—Most of us are familiar with the boisterous Hurricane Sandy that struck the East Coast last fall. In its aftermath, according to New York Restaurants Sue Storage Facility for $2 Million of Wine in Hurricane Limbo, two of Keith McNally’s NYC restaurants—Minetta Tavern and Morandi—filed a lawsuit against WineCare, a storage facility in downtown Manhattan that sustained damages from Hurricane Sandy and filed for bankruptcy on January 30, 2013. Allegedly, the storage facility is yet to allow its customers to gain access to wines held by the facility. In the jointly-filed complaint, plaintiffs allege that WineCare has not allowed its clients to access their wines, despite both requests and demands of the plaintiffs, which are currently held by the defendant without the consent of the plaintiffs. See the rest of the story at New York Restaurants Sue Storage Facility for $2 Million of Wine in Hurricane Limbo. (Article courtesy of Kevin Swersey.)

New York’s Court of Appeals is to review a recent decision that could have some impact on the wine industry at auction sales. According to Lawyers Fight to Keep Auction Sellers Anonymous, the established practice (in New York) of keeping an auction seller’s name anonymous may come to an end if the Court of Appeals affirms the decision by its appellate division. The current ruling does not require sellers to reveal their names publicly, but does state that buyers are entitled to know the name of the sellers (as opposed to the current practice of stating the work is from a “private collection”). If the New York Court of Appeals is to affirm the lower court decision, this could change the practice for wine sold at auction, including auction houses like Christie’s. See the full story at Lawyers Fight to Keep Auction Sellers Anonymous. (Article courtesy of Kevin Swersey.)

Finally, what I find to be incredibly interesting and relevant to my field of work in wine and food law, recent news maintains that the United Kingdom is considering calorie labels for beer, wines, and spirits. This consideration stems from the UK’s desire to reduce or discourage binge drinking. The government feels that, by adding a calorie count to alcohol beverages, the calorie count could encourage individuals monitoring their weight to drink less. See Calorie Labels for Beer, Wine and Spirits Considered by UK Government. No such requirement exists in the United States, at least not for wines that are at or above 7% alcohol by volume or greater. (Wines with less than 7% alcohol by volume are regulated by FDA and are generally required to have a nutrition facts panel, which includes a calorie count, but there can be exceptions.)

Permanent link to this post (491 words, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

{ 4 comments }

Duckhorn Wine Co. Files a Complaint Against Duck Walk Vineyards Alleging Consumer Confusion on Wine Labels

by Lindsey A. Zahn on February 5, 2013

I read the article outlining the complaint filed by Duckhorn Wine Co. of St. Helena against Duck Walk Vineyards, and I feel particularly compelled to blog about the complaint by means of both legal interest and personal significance. (I spent some of my childhood summers on the eastern end of Long Island, and I am somewhat familiar with Duck Walk Vineyards, but I am especially interested in the area of intellectual property.) According to Duckhorn asks N.Y. Winery to Modify Label and Sales, Duckhorn Wine Co. filed a complaint against Duck Walk Vineyards on January 15, 2013 in Napa County Superior Court. The complaint alleges breach of contract (specifically relating to trademark), which required Duck Walk Vineyard to mention its geographical indication on the front of its labels. Furthermore, the complaint alleges the failure of Duck Walk Vineyards to provide the location of the vineyard on its wine labels lead to consumer confusion. Duckhorn demands Duck Walk Vineyards alter its labels and halt sales of 50% of its wines outside of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Id. 

Duckhorn’s lawyer stated that Duck Walk Vineyards did not follow a 2003 court settlement in which Duck Walk agreed to several constraints, including placing the vineyard’s place of origin on the front label. “Under the settlement, Duck Walk also agreed not to produce and/or bottle more than 84,000 gallons of wine with the word ‘Duck’ or pictures of ducks on the label unless they’re part of the corporate name ‘Duck Walk Vineyards Inc.’” See Duckhorn asks N.Y. Winery to Modify Label and Sales. The lawyers for Duck Walk argue that Duckhorn does not own the word “Duck.”

It is true that Duckhorn and Duck Walk Vineyards both sell wine in the United States, at especially different price points, but to the extent that their products are “similar” to cause even remote disorientation among consumers is a rather weighty argument. A quick search of the TTB COLA database, restricting results to wine and fortified wine labels, indicates that there are over 400 labels since February of 2007 that use the word “DUCK” on either the fanciful name or brand name of the label. (Editor’s note: the aforementioned results are of labels that, to a greater percentage, are from Duckhorn Vineyards; additionally, not all labels from other vineyards with the word “DUCK” also include images of a duck or ducks on the label, but most of the labels do.) 

Finally, the word “DUCK” is what trademark attorneys would say is a generic term—meaning, the word “DUCK” is of common use (a word one would find in a dictionary). And, because I think it is necessary, a closer look at some of the labels at issue: a Duckhorn label and a Duck Walk label. To what extent do these labels look like they originated from the same producer? And some other vineyards that use the term “DUCK” on their labels, just to confirm the presence of “DUCK” on multiple labels: Duck Pond, Butterducks, and Diving Duck. To what degree do any of these labels promote consumer confusion?

Permanent link to this post (503 words, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)

{ 3 comments }