TV chef loses trademark battle with Ardbeg owner
James Martin, chef and host of James Martin’s Saturday Morning, has lost a trademark bid to register his name for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
The TV presenter and cook book author was seeking exclusive ownership of ‘James Martin’ and ‘James Martin’s’ as trademarks for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to expand his brand. He currently owns a signature collection of wines created in partnership with Wines & Brands and Vinohero.
Martin applied to register the trademark in July 2022. The goods and services applied for included non-alcoholic distilled spirits, non-alcoholic ‘gin’, non-alcoholic cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks such as ginger ale, ginger beer, fruit drinks and fruit juices, and syrups and preparations for making beverages, as well as wine and beer products.
However, Macdonald & Muir, the legal entity for The Glenmorangie Company, owner of whisky brands Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, opposed the trademark application.
Originally founded in 1893, Macdonald & Muir, which changed its name to The Glenmorangie Company in 1996, has owned the trademarks for ‘James Martin’ and ‘James Martin’s’ for whisky since 1998.
Macdonald & Muir argued the two marks “are identical” to one owned by the company – which is registered for whisky – and that this “leads to a likelihood of confusion”.
The identical product in question is one of the firm’s longstanding subsidiary products – an Edinburgh-based blended whisky brand that was particularly successful in overseas markets – that is currently dormant.
Both parties filed evidence and a hearing was held on 14 January 2025.
Prior to this, evidence came in the form of a witness statement from Caspar MacRae, president and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company. The statement, dated 26 August 2023, was accompanied by seven exhibits, with the main purpose to show proof of use of the opponent’s registrations.
In the statement, MacRae detailed the background of the ownership of the James Martin’s brand since its establishment in 1878, noting that the firm has produced in the UK and exported for sale a “blended malt whisky under the name James Martin’s”.
On 22 December 2025, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) found in favour of Macdonald & Muir, stating the trademarks cannot proceed to registration in relation to drinks, noting that the average consumer would be likely to mistake one product for the other if it allowed Martin to use the name.
The IPO has subsequently ordered Martin to pay Macdonald & Muir the sum of £1,900 (US$2,560) as compensation for the firm’s legal costs.
The Spirits Business has reached out to James Martin for comments.
Related news
Sazerac wins partial victory in LIV Golf trademark dispute
