Jack Daniel’s and Sazerac settle lawsuit
Jack Daniel’s has settled a lawsuit with Sazerac alleging the Tennessee whiskey producer infringed the trademark of its Fireball Cinnamon Whisky brand in a Google advert for Tennessee Fire.
Jack Daniel’s has settled its lawsuit with rival whiskey giant SazeracAs reported by Law360, the November case alleged Jack Daniel’s used a Google search advertising feature to redirect customers searching for Sazerac’s Fireball Cinnamon Whisky brand to its own spiced variant, Tennessee Fire.
On Monday, Sazerac Brands LLC told a Kentucky federal court it was voluntarily dismissing its lawsuit alleging Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. was violating the Lanham Act through the use of ‘Fireball’ in its marketing for Tennessee Fire.
The following day, US district judge David J. Hale approved the dismissal and dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.
The conditions of the settlement were not available at court, according to Law360.
Fireball was initially launched back in 1998 and registered trademarks between 2004 and 2013, while Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire registered its trademark in 2013 and launched in 2014.
Fireball reported sales of US$65 million in 2013, while since its soft roll-out, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire – a 35% abv blend of Jack Daniel’s with a “red hot” cinnamon liqueur – has experienced rapid growth.
