Vodka brand to change name following lawsuit

White Oak Vodka has agreed to change its name less than a month after the Florida-based firm lost a trademark battle against a California winery of the same name.

White Oak Vodka has agreed to change its name following a trademark lawsuit with White Oak Vineyard

As reported by Law360, court papers filed on Tuesday show White Oak Vineyard & Winery LLC will drop its lawsuit provided White Oak Spirits LLC “immediately and permanently” stops “producing, distributing, selling, importing, marketing, promoting or advertising” any products labelled under the brand name.

Last month, a California federal judge granted an injunction against the spirits business disallowing it to sell, market or advertise its White Oak Premium Vodka.

White Oak Spirits had argued that the two types of alcohol were different enough to exist side by side, but the judge concluded last month that consumers would be “very likely to conclude” that the two beverages were manufactured by the same company.

“The court agrees that the products are distinct,” the judge wrote, as reported by Law360. “A customer at a bar who ordered a vodka-based cocktail does not expect to be handed a glass of white wine.

“However, the question to be evaluated by the court is not whether the two products contain sufficient similarities for a consumer to assume they both came from the same source.

“Rather, the court is indicating that on the totality of the facts provided here – namely, that the names of the two products are identical – the goods are sufficiently related for a likelihood of confusion to arise.”

White Oak Vineyard has been trading under its name since 1989, while White Oak Spirits began operating in 2013.