Comments on: Recession Red, Table Wine http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recession-red-table-wine Distilling a million label approvals down to the ones that affect you. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:19:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Wine of the Times (for an Ale-ing Economy) | bevlog | beer, wine, spirits trends | beverage blog http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine/comment-page-1#comment-819 Wine of the Times (for an Ale-ing Economy) | bevlog | beer, wine, spirits trends | beverage blog Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:46:02 +0000 http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/?p=308#comment-819 [...] few weeks ago we wrote about Recession Red table wine. We were sort of hoping we would have no reason to revisit this woeful topic anytime soon. And yet [...] [...] few weeks ago we wrote about Recession Red table wine. We were sort of hoping we would have no reason to revisit this woeful topic anytime soon. And yet [...]

]]> By: 100 Best Beer and Wine Blogs | Culinary School Guide http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine/comment-page-1#comment-53 100 Best Beer and Wine Blogs | Culinary School Guide Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:24:56 +0000 http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/?p=308#comment-53 [...] bevlog: Check out this blog that offers a look at beverage law. [...] [...] bevlog: Check out this blog that offers a look at beverage law. [...]

]]> By: Weinakademie Berlin » Schnelle Schüsse in harten Zeiten http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine/comment-page-1#comment-27 Weinakademie Berlin » Schnelle Schüsse in harten Zeiten Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:46:03 +0000 http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/?p=308#comment-27 [...] und Washington für sich eintragen lassen. Jetzt freuen sich die Patentanwälte: die erste Eintragung der Marke erfolgte nämlich schon im März durch Books & Tomatoes, Inc., eine Firma in New [...] [...] und Washington für sich eintragen lassen. Jetzt freuen sich die Patentanwälte: die erste Eintragung der Marke erfolgte nämlich schon im März durch Books & Tomatoes, Inc., eine Firma in New [...]

]]> By: Wineguy http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine/comment-page-1#comment-14 Wineguy Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:56:56 +0000 http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/?p=308#comment-14 In the 1980's a Santa Barbara winery, J Carey (no longer in business) produced a wine called "Recession Red." Dr. Carey was a local Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for local office. In response Brooks Firestone, a Republican who ran successfully for State Assembly and (later) County Supervisor, produced "Recovery White". In the 1980′s a Santa Barbara winery, J Carey (no longer in business) produced a wine called “Recession Red.” Dr. Carey was a local Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for local office. In response Brooks Firestone, a Republican who ran successfully for State Assembly and (later) County Supervisor, produced “Recovery White”.

]]> By: Paul Jorgensen http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/wine/recession-red-table-wine/comment-page-1#comment-11 Paul Jorgensen Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:27:24 +0000 http://www.bevlaw.com/bevlog/?p=308#comment-11 This is an excellent example of the value of adding a trademark attorney to your legal team early. While your beverage law expert may be able to get you a TTB approval of your proposed label, that approval is very limited in scope: it doesn't mean that you can use or register the words as trademarks to cover wine. A trademark attorney can research proposed trademarks and help you assess the risks of using or seeking to register those marks. This is a valuable service: if the search reveals prior marks in use or on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registry (PTO), you might want to reconsider sinking any money into labels and promotions bearing that mark. In this case, the three West coast wineries probably should have conducted trademark searches for RECESSION RED. Had they done so, they would have found that a Sea Cliff, New York company, Books & Tomatoes, Inc., filed a trademark application in March 2008 to register the mark RECESSION RED for wine. This application may cause these other wineries some difficulty. However, since the RECESSION RED application is based on the applicant's intent to use the mark rather than their actual use, the risk posed by this application may be lower than if it was based on use of RECESSION RED in commerce. Trademark law favors the first to use a trademark in commerce: protection should be awarded to a mark that garners goodwill first based on consumer's perceptions and associations with trademarks that they associate with a certain level of quality. Racing to be the first to use a mark is typical in industries like pharmaceuticals, but less so in wine and spirits. Pharmaceutical companies have substantial resources and business models that allow them to seek multiple trademarks, applications, labeling and promotions. They also have the resources for trademark disputes and relabeling of products if they lose those disputes. The wine and spirits industry typically does not have those resources, is more risk and dispute averse, and does not have the same need for an ultra-catchy name to distinguish their products. As a result, the wine and spirits industry clients that I have assisted are generally more deliberate in seeking new trademarks, asking my assistance and experience with the selection, vetting, and applications for their trademarks. They don't think it is worth it to get a mark, label bottles, and get distributors ready only to have a trademark dispute derail shipments or force relabeling. Here, racing for a mark that is not very distinctive and not likely to be strong may be interesting news, but the wineries running should probably reconsider whether making it to the tape first will be worth it. Paul Jorgensen The Jorgensen Law Firm PLLC 1250 24th Street NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20037 (P) 202-466-0530 (F) 202-466-0502 pcj@jorgensenfirm.com This is an excellent example of the value of adding a trademark attorney to your legal team early. While your beverage law expert may be able to get you a TTB approval of your proposed label, that approval is very limited in scope: it doesn’t mean that you can use or register the words as trademarks to cover wine.

A trademark attorney can research proposed trademarks and help you assess the risks of using or seeking to register those marks. This is a valuable service: if the search reveals prior marks in use or on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registry (PTO), you might want to reconsider sinking any money into labels and promotions bearing that mark.

In this case, the three West coast wineries probably should have conducted trademark searches for RECESSION RED. Had they done so, they would have found that a Sea Cliff, New York company, Books & Tomatoes, Inc., filed a trademark application in March 2008 to register the mark RECESSION RED for wine. This application may cause these other wineries some difficulty.

However, since the RECESSION RED application is based on the applicant’s intent to use the mark rather than their actual use, the risk posed by this application may be lower than if it was based on use of RECESSION RED in commerce. Trademark law favors the first to use a trademark in commerce: protection should be awarded to a mark that garners goodwill first based on consumer’s perceptions and associations with trademarks that they associate with a certain level of quality.

Racing to be the first to use a mark is typical in industries like pharmaceuticals, but less so in wine and spirits. Pharmaceutical companies have substantial resources and business models that allow them to seek multiple trademarks, applications, labeling and promotions. They also have the resources for trademark disputes and relabeling of products if they lose those disputes. The wine and spirits industry typically does not have those resources, is more risk and dispute averse, and does not have the same need for an ultra-catchy name to distinguish their products. As a result, the wine and spirits industry clients that I have assisted are generally more deliberate in seeking new trademarks, asking my assistance and experience with the selection, vetting, and applications for their trademarks. They don’t think it is worth it to get a mark, label bottles, and get distributors ready only to have a trademark dispute derail shipments or force relabeling.

Here, racing for a mark that is not very distinctive and not likely to be strong may be interesting news, but the wineries running should probably reconsider whether making it to the tape first will be worth it.

Paul Jorgensen
The Jorgensen Law Firm PLLC
1250 24th Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20037
(P) 202-466-0530 (F) 202-466-0502
pcj@jorgensenfirm.com

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