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Sazerac resolves Fireball trademark lawsuit
Sazerac has settled a trademark lawsuit with a North Carolina brewery after accusing the firm of infringing on its Fireball Cinnamon Whisky trademark.
Sazerac has resolved its trademark lawsuit against the Stout Brewing Company over the Fireball and Fire Flask brands
The US distiller took legal action against Stout Brewing Company and its Fire Flask malt liquor last month, claiming the brand “exploited” the trademark of Fireball and used packaging that was “confusingly similar”.
Fire Flask, which launched this summer, features a horned demon figure on its label and also uses the same colour scheme and red bottle caps, Sazerac argued.
Law360 reports that Sazerac has dropped the lawsuit, while Stout Brewing Company has also dropped its counterclaims. Each party has agreed to cover its own legal fees and court costs.
Stout Brewing Company initially argued that there were several differences between Fireball and Fire Flask, while the word “fire” along with its choice colour scheme was “hardly distinctive” in the bottle design and marketing of spicy of hot products.
The brewery has, however, agreed to redesign its label and “cease selling products with infringing labels” after acknowledging Sazerac’s rights to the Fireball trademark and trade dress.
In 2012, Sazerac sued Hood River River Distillers over the name and labelling of its cinnamon-flavoured SinFire Cinnamon Whiskey, which it claimed infringed on the trademark of Fireball.
The company later filed as lawsuit against Crosby Lake Spirits Company for its Bison Ridge Canadian whisky, which it claimed was “confusingly similar” to Buffalo Trace.