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Distillery fined over Johnnie Walker ‘whiskye’ rip-off

A distillery in central Ukraine that produces Jack Talker Red Level ‘whiskye’ has been fined over a number of breaches relating to Diageo’s Johnnie Walker brand, according to reports.

Photo credit: The Simferopol Wine and Cognac Factory website

The Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine fined The Simferopol Wine and Cognac Factory in Dnipro £20,000 – following a £400,000 fine for a “similar” violation in 2015, The Times states.

The distillery also produces Jack Talker Blue Level and Jack Talker Black Level expressions, and last year reportedly registered ‘White Hopes’, believed to be an imitation of Diageo’s White Horse blended whisky.

Reports also state that the company lost a patent for Captain Jack in a court case earlier this year. The brand, said to be based on Diageo’s Captain Morgan rum, also featured a pirate on the bottle.

The Simferopol distillery also makes a product called Black Jack, said to imitate the US whiskey Jack Daniel’s, and last year it reportedly registered another trademark, White Hopes, to compete with Diageo’s White Horse blended whisky.

A spokesperson for Diageo said: “Diageo vigorously protects and enforces the intellectual property rights for all of its brands. Everywhere we operate we are committed to a long-term, strategic view of consistent and forceful action against all lookalike or counterfeited products that violate our intellectual property rights. We do not comment however on current courts decisions that relate to such cases.”

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