KY distillery drops lawsuit against university

A small moonshine distillery has dropped its lawsuit against the University of Kentucky following a dispute over the use of the word ‘Kentucky’ on marketing materials.

Kentucky Mist Moonshine has abandoned its lawsuit against the University of Kentucky

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the Kentucky Mist Moonshine distillery and the University of Kentucky are now endeavouring to come to an agreement out of court.

In October this year, the university reportedly threatened to sue Whitesburg-based Kentucky Mist after the distillery attempted to trademark a logo to use on clothing items.

The University of Kentucky sent a letter claiming that it had “trademarked” the word “Kentucky” on clothing since 1997, and that its use on Kentucky Mist Moonshine clothing would cause “deception, confusion and mistake”.

It added that if the distillery ceased its intention to produce clothing items bearing the “Kentucky” name, it would “consider the matter closed”, but would “consider further action” if necessary.

Kentucky Mist filed a lawsuit in November this year asking the US District Court to either invalidate or “reform” the university’s registration of the trademark.

The lawsuit claims that Kentucky Mist Moonshine should be permitted to register the trademark since it does not dilute that of UK, adding that “Kentucky” is a geographical location and a word used by numerous businesses, brands and organisations not affiliated with UK.

While the distillery has asked its lawsuit to be dismissed, this request has been ‘without prejudice’, meaning the lawsuit could be filed again.