E And J Gallo Sends Cease And Desist Trademark Notice To E And B Beer
from the bullies-be-bullying dept
It's been a refreshing bit of time since we've last written about a silly trademark dispute in the beer and alcohol space, so perhaps you, the dear Techdirt reader, had thought that the complete fuster-cluck that is trademark and alcohol had somehow begun to calm the hell down. Sadly, not so much, it seems. To serve as one reminder, E & J Gallo, maker of wines and spirits and a company that has previously demonstrated its inability to tell different kinds of drinks apart, has sent a cease and desist notice to E & B Beer, a company that makes, you know, beer.
The case pits well known wine and liquor company E and J Gallo against E and B Beer. The owner of Eand B, Santo Landa, says he sees no similarity and feels like this is a case of a big company trying to stomp out the little guy.E and B Beer has been around since the late 1800s in Detroit. It's already been trademarked once before.
Since buying the brand, Landa applied for his own trademark but he's run into a roadblock. An attorney for E and J sent a legal notice saying similarities may cause confusion for customers.
So, let's start with the names of each company. It should be immediately clear that any concern about confusion between the two names is fairly silly. The only similarity between them is the "E and" at the start of each name. Everything else about the names is distinct, from the second initial used to the inclusion of another name (Gallo) and the other mark's description of what the product is (beer). Even if we set aside my personal quest to have the Trademark Office realize that beer, wine, and spirits are all distinct industries and should be treated as such for the purposes of trademark, there's little likelihood of confusion purely from the names of each business. Add to that the logos for each company are beyond distinct and it seems clear that confusion ain't going to be a thing.
None of each company's various iterations of their logos appear to be any more similar than the above. Other than the start of the name and both logos having red in them, there's just nothing there. Certainly not enough to rise to the level of trademark infringement. Which is probably why Landa himself can't figure out what the issue is and sees this as nothing more than a bullying attempt by a larger company.
"I'd like to get an explanation as to what they think is confusion," he says.
The most troubling thing for Landa? He insists he can win a legal fight, but not without big money - money he simply doesn't have.
Now, E and J Gallo apparently offered Landa the rights to keep his name, but only if he limited his sales to 2 states. If you think that's reasonable, you aren't paying attention, because there's nothing remotely like trademark infringement here and there is no reason for Landa to give up his right to sell anywhere at all, never mind limiting himself to 4% of the country's states.
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Filed Under: beer, trademark, wine
Companies: e & b beer, e & j gallo
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Qualities of growth, or tasting
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And fun was had by all!
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Re: And fun was had by all!
They might also balance the results by who brings the most/least lawyers, but don't tell them this in advance.
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As they also own the Batles and Jaymes mark, maybe E & J Gallo think they have the rights to anything something and something in any sort of drinky space.
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Why "big money"?
I know there a lot of lawyers here at Techdirt.
Can somebody please explain why fighting and winning this requires "big money"?
IANAL (as I've amply demonstrated in the past). But surely there is some process for adjudicating this dispute before the PTO.
Why does that process, in a simple case like this, require "big money"? I find it hard to imagine it would require more than a few hours for a competent trademark attorney to draft a document disputing Gallo's claim.
So - what? $2000? Is that "big money" for a brewery?
Somebody please explain.
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Re: Why "big money"?
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Re: Re: Why "big money"?
How much does that add up to, realistically? A couple hours a month?
That doesn't strike me as "big money" for a business of 10 or 20 people. And at some point either there will be a resolution or Gallo will give up (esp. if they're getting bad publicity, which they are).
Am I not getting something? Why does this guy think he can't fight this?
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Re: Re: Re: Why "big money"?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Why "big money"?
If you're correct, and if the courts don't address the justice of that via assignment of costs, etc., then this is a condemnation of far more than the PTO and trademark law - it's a condemnation of our entire legal system.
But I don't know if you're correct.
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Rewards...
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Re: Rewards...
But awarding double or triple costs...yes.
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Re: Re: Rewards...
Award triple hours from the loosers attorneys directly.
That will make em sweat.
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Re: Re: Re: Rewards...
One way or another, clients pay.
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Only 2, I can think of more...
Are those the states of confusion and disbelief?
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"perhaps you ... had thought that the complete fuster-cluck ... had somehow begun to calm the hell down"
In any case, what's the point of presenting yet another copy-and-paste-in-names piece? What's your wished for, and practical solutions, no matter how alcohol-fueled?
(Also, try to improve as a writer: avoid even euphemisms for vulgarisms and hackneyed phrases. Those add nothing unless you're paid by the word...)
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Re: "perhaps you ... had thought that the complete fuster-cluck ... had somehow begun to calm the hell down"
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It's soooooo confusing!
I'm confused...
Both product are liquids, so they must be the same...
Right?
But they both use red in their logos and so does Stolichnaya vodka, so that means they are both vodkas...
Right?
And the font on the E&B logo is very similar to the font of J&R's Steakhouse and since both products use ampersands in their logos...
Both products must be Steak Vodka...
Right?
Both names start with an E and the E in E&J refers to the name Ernest, and that is very similar to Ernie, and since I know about Ernie and Bert, the B must stand for Bert...
So both products are Steak Vodka, made by the rival muppets on Sesame Street... Right?
Okay... Got it.
It was very confusing, but I figured it out.
I'm glad their stupid lawsuit cleared this up for me.
Okay, Ernie & Bert Gallo... I want my Steak Vodka now.
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Re:
It would help considerable if you included links to the trademark images of which you speak.
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Re:
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Strike That, Reverse It
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If they can’t they think the public can't
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Andrei Mincov
Founder and CEO of Trademark Factory® / https://trademarkfactory.com, the only firm in the world that offers trademarking services with a predictable, guaranteed result, for a predictable, guaranteed budget. We can help you register your trademarks with a free comprehensive trademark search, for a single all-inclusive flat fee, with a 100% money-back guarantee.
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