CLE International is hosting the 19th Annual National Conference on Wine, Beer, and Spirits Law this September in Washington, D.C. The conference will be Thursday, September 18th through Friday, September 19th at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. Additionally, attendees can earn up to 12 MCLE credits including one…
Author: Lindsey A. Zahn
Lindsey is the founder and author of On Reserve: A Wine Law Blog. She is an attorney and the Managing Partner of the alcohol beverage and food law firm Lindsey Zahn P.C. Lindsey is admitted to the New York State Bar.
The New Chinese Trademark Law In Effect: The Wine Version
There’s been a lot of news over the last few months with respect to China and wine trademarks, especially with respect to French winemakers. See, e.g., Is China Making a Step Forward in Wine Trademark Law? and French Wine Company Castel Frères to Pursue Trademark Battle Against Panati in China’s Supreme Court. On May…
The Minimalistic Wine Label Approach: Are We Heading Toward Textless Labels?
There’s been some chatter recently about Uproot Wines and its newly introduced color-coded labels that represent the wine’s flavor palette. See, e.g., Millennials Targeted with Color-Coded Labels. The colored boxes on the true front label of the wine feature what Uproot Wines declares is a flavor palette, or a profile of…
TTB Updates Information on Optional Alcohol Facts Statements
Last week, TTB updated its FAQ section on optional Alcohol Facts statements to include more information on Alcohol Facts statements (or alcohol facts panels). The updated information includes TTB’s insights on whether per-serving and per-container alcohol content information can be placed on labels and in advertisements which do not contain nutrient content…
A Trademark Double Entendre: N2 Versus Into Wines
Here’s an interesting scenario. Can a trademark applicant’s mark ever have multiple meanings? And can such dual-meaning mark be issued a trademark even if one of its meanings is deemed merely descriptive? In a recent appeal to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, administrative…
TTB Suspends Ruling on Bottling Taxpaid Wine in Growlers
Several weeks after TTB announced its third ruling of Year 2014, the Bottling Taxpaid Wine in Growlers or Similar Containers for Consumption Off of the Premises (Suspended), TTB issued a subsequent announcement declaring the suspension of the ruling. (The original ruling held that filling growlers and similar containers for consumption off…
Author of On Reserve to Speak About Beverage Law at Cornell Law School
It is quite an honor to share that I have been invited to speak at Cornell Law School on behalf of The Society of Wine and Jurisprudence and The Cornell Sports and Entertainment Law Society. The topic is “Pursuing a Career in Beverage Law,” and will include discussions about following…
Chateau Mouton Rothschild Tells Burgundy Wine Producer to Change its Name
Bordeaux estate Château Mouton Rothschild recently sent a Burgundy wine producer, Vintner Laurent Mouton, a cease and desist letter, asking the producer to stop use of the name “Domaine Mouton” on its wine labels. The Château claimed that use of such a name on wine labels was “unauthorised reproduction [and] amounts to…
Why New York is Positioned to Take the Wine Industry by Storm: A Legal Perspective
New York is home to over four hundred wineries as of March 2014. See New York Wine and Grape Foundation: Wineries by County. While this number may not compete with the amount of wineries currently housed by California, it makes New York home to the greatest number of wineries on the East…
Santa Barbara, Bordeaux, and Bourgogne/Chablis Sign the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin
Three renowned wine regions recently signed the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin. By signing the Declaration, the new signatories—the American wine region of Santa Barbara County and the French wine regions of Bordeaux and Bourgogne/Chablis—become part of a global movement to protect wine place names and ensure…