Canadian craft distillery wins trademark battle

A Canadian micro-distillery has won the right to use its Spirit Bear branding following a three-year trademark battle.

Urban Distilleries has won the right to use the Spirit Bear trademark across its range of vodkas and gins

As reported in CBC News, a federal court last week ruled that Kelowna-based Urban Distilleries can use the name Spirit Bear across its range of vodkas, flavoured vodkas, and gins after the City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council’s claims to the trademark were found invalid.

Government entities the City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council filed for the Spirit Bear trademark in 2003 and 2006 respectively in order to mark businesses together, but were found to have improperly registered the name.

“Basically, the whole business was on the line,” said Mike Urban, founder of Urban Distilleries. “If I had to stop making that brand, I’d have to come out with a new brand and essentially it would be like starting the business from day one.”

The distillery’s range of products are labeled with the name Spirit Bear and feature an image of the Kermode bear, native to British Colombia’s central coast area.

the City of Terrace and Kitasoo Band Council have also been ordered to pay Urban Distilleries legal costs.