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As craft beer grew into the force it’s become today, so also did its naming rights battles. And now similar legal actions have begun as the drinks biz continues to align (or in this case) distance itself from the emerging recreational cannabis industry.
Here’s the deal…
Wine Spectator‘s publishing house, M. Shanken Communications, has entered into a legal battle with new website Weed Spectator over trademark infringement.”
The publisher alleges that Weed Spectator, which is published by California’s Modern Wellness Inc. was using a 100-point scale similar to Wine Spectator‘s when reviewing cannabis products (we’ll be interested in watching how the court rules on that particular claim) and that its website and social media pages bore a “striking similarity” to the wine publication’s, according to Reuters.
The New York-based wine publisher, also argues that Weed Spectator has applied for a trademark logo using the same font as Wine Spectator‘s.
According to the Drinks Business, Wellness Inc filed two separate trademark applications for Weed Spectator on 2 January 2018, (one with the title “Weed Spectator“, and the other “Weed Spectator: you rate, we score“) both of which are still pending…an action that the wine, whisky and cigar magazine publisher referred to as a “classic case of ‘passing off.”
And ortions of M. Shanken’s complaint make it pretty clear that they don’t want to be associated with the emerging craft beer industry in any way…
“M. Shanken has no interest in associating Wine Spectator and the Wine Spectator marks with cannabis, a largely illegal drug, Any association of this type is likely to tarnish the reputation and goodwill that has been built up in the Wine Spectator marks and business for decades, resulting in dilution of the brand.”
Shanken, home to a number of publications with high net-worth readers, including Wine Spectator,Whisky Advocate, Market Watch, Impact, and Cigar Aficionado, bought Wine Spectator, which currently has 3 million readers worldwide, in 1979.
