A Barber Pole, A Cocktail Bar, and a Bad First Amendment Result: Why the Osteria Segreto Decision Gets The Barber Shop Blackstone Wrong
A bar called “The Barber Shop” should not need a barber license. That ought...
Category: Advertising
Who Owns the Brewery Logo? When Beer-and-a-Handshake Branding Deals Collide with Brewery Sales
Craft brewing grew up on beer-and-a-handshake deals. An artist liked the brewery, liked the...
Can a City Take Cannabis Revenue and Still Ban Cannabis Billboards? The First Amendment Just Said No.
Can a city take cannabis revenue and still ban cannabis billboards? A federal court just reminded Perris that the First Amendment doesn’t disappear when cannabis enters the picture. A strong, sensible commercial-speech ruling—and a roadmap for challenging overreaching cannabis advertising laws nationwide.
Lite vs Light in Beer: Why Two 7th Circuit Cases Keep the Terms Fair Game
September marks the anniversary of the Seventh Circuit’s opinion in Miller v. Jos. Schlitz...
Kentucky’s Bourbon Battle: Court Dismisses False Advertising Claims in “First Black-Owned Distillery” Dispute
A federal court in Kentucky recently weighed in on a branding battle between two...
Coors Light and the Rockies: A Case of Marketing, Misinterpretation, and the Reasonable Consumer
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued its decision in Lorenzo v. MillerCoors,...
Valuable insight on packaging design and labeling offered in Court’s dismissal of claims that hard seltzer conveyed the impression it contained tequila. Saying “Margarita Hard Seltzer” is not the same as saying “Sparkling Margarita” or “Margarita Cocktail.”
Context is crucial. That’s the takeaway from this recent opinion out of a New...
Court finds TTB label approval does not preclude Lanham Act false advertising claims in dispute between two brands looking to claim status as the “First African-American Owned Distillery in Kentucky.”
Every once in a while competing alcohol brands will get involved in a dispute...
Yes, changing your advertising and discontinuing your beverage can make a difference: Court nails coffin shut on Olympia Beer class action over “It’s the Water”
When last we wrote, things didn’t look so good for Pabst’s Olympia Beer –...
Selling alcoholic beverages in Illinois? Retailers, wholesalers, distilleries, breweries and wineries should get familiar with the soon-to-be new rule regarding alcoholic beverage promotions involving coupons and rebates; scan backs are prohibited.
Following an initial first-round publication (now edited) and two rounds of comments (here and...
Order entered dismissing remaining issues in Molson Coors (MillerCoors) v. Anheuser false advertising case… yes, that one about the corn syrup ads from 2019.
It’s finally over. Back in 2020, the 7th Circuit reversed an injunction that then...
Court finds craft brewer’s label protected by free speech, state regulation of label content unconstitutional (yes, it’s Flying Dog… again)
Flying Dog Brewery has long been known for its Ralph Steadman label artwork. Steadman...
