The Battle over Cinnamon Whiskey

Sazerac has accused Jack Daniel’s of using Google search advertising to “confuse” consumers and “divert” Fireball sales to its own Tennessee Fire variation. Sazerac has accused Brown-Forman of using Google AdWords to acquisition keywords that cause consumers searching for Fireball to instantly find pages for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire. It has therefore requested that Jack Daniel’s be banned from using the word “Fireball” in marketing of its cinnamon-flavored Tennessee Fire brand extension.

Fireball first launched in 1998, with trademarks registered between 2004 and 2013. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire registered its trademark in 2013 and launched the following year. Since its soft roll-out, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Fire, a 35% alcohol by volume blend of Jack Daniel’s with a “red hot” cinnamon liqueur, has experienced rapid growth, while Fireball recorded sales of US $65 million in 2013. The battle between the two liqueur giants has continued to grow.

According to Law360, the suit states: “It is readily apparent that defendant deliberately chose to purchase ‘Fireball’ as a Google Adword and include either ‘Fireball’ or ‘Fire-Ball’ in the text and headers of its ads triggered by searched for ‘Fireball’ in order to create false association with or subversively divert consumers away from Sazerac’s Fireball brand.” Sazerac has requested disgorgement of any Jack Daniel’s profits correlated with the alleged infringement, in addition to payment for damages and costs.

Sazerac has been very protective of its branded whiskey and earlier this year launched legal action against a North Carolina brewery, accusing the firm of “exploiting” the trademark of its Fireball Cinnamon Whisky brand. This lawsuit was was settled out of court. Sazerac also filed a complaint just last week against Stout Brewing Company and its Fire Flask malt liquor. The US spirits producer, owner of the Buffalo Trace Distillery, said the packaging and name of Fire Flask was “confusing similar” to Fireball, and was designed to “trade on the longstanding goodwill” of the popular whisky liqueur brand. Fire Flask, which launched this summer, features a “similar” horned demon figure on its label, the lawsuit claims, and also uses the same color scheme and red bottle caps.

Will Fireball’s heated claims come out breathing fire; it sure looks like they are going to try to blow their other competitors out of the competition.

By: Brittany Swaner, Symposium Editor

Photo credit: m01229 via flickr.com cc

Sources Used:

http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2015/11/fireball-and-jd-in-cinnamon-whiskey-lawsuit/

https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/730502/jack-daniels-used-google-to-infringe-fireball-mark-rival-says