{"id":393,"date":"2018-06-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/mtym\/2018\/06\/29\/sixth-circuit-court-of-appeals-affirms-fair-use-of-old-taylor-to-describe-colonel-e-h-taylors-historic-distillery-location\/"},"modified":"2018-06-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T00:00:00","slug":"sixth-circuit-court-of-appeals-affirms-fair-use-of-old-taylor-to-describe-colonel-e-h-taylors-historic-distillery-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norrismclaughlin.com\/mtym\/trademark-infringement\/sixth-circuit-court-of-appeals-affirms-fair-use-of-old-taylor-to-describe-colonel-e-h-taylors-historic-distillery-location\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Fair Use of \u201cOld Taylor\u201d to Describe Colonel E.H. Taylor\u2019s Historic Distillery Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent opinion, Sazerac Brands, LLC v. Peristyle, LLC<\/em><\/a>, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision finding in favor of a Kentucky bourbon distillery that their use of \u201cthe Former Old Taylor Distillery\u201d or \u201cOld Taylor\u201d was classic fair use of Sazerac\u2019s trademarks OLD TAYLOR and COLONEL E.H. TAYLOR.<\/p>\n

Homage to Kentucky Bourbon and Colonel Taylor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Bourbon lovers will delight in the decision, which begins with Bluegrass State-centric recitation of the history of bourbon and a tribute to Colonel Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., \u201cthe most remarkable man to enter the whiskey industry during the post-Civil War years.\u201d\u00a0 Colonel Taylor built the Old Taylor Distillery in 1887 in Woodford County, Kentucky.\u00a0 While the distillery was successful during Colonel Taylor\u2019s life, it fell into disrepair after his death, and production ceased in 1972.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Peristyle, LLC was formed.\u00a0 It purchased the distillery property with the intent to resume bourbon production there.\u00a0 During the year-long renovation period, Peristyle referred to the location as \u201cthe Former Old Taylor Distillery\u201d or \u201cOld Taylor.\u201d\u00a0 Eventually, Peristyle decided to brand the bourbon under the name Castle & Key<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sazerac\u2019s Lanham Act Related Common Law Claims<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Sazerac, which owns the trademark rights to OLD TAYLOR and COLONEL E.H. TAYLOR for bourbon, sued Peristyle, alleging trademark infringement, unfair competition, and false advertising under the Lanham Act, and related common law claims. \u00a0The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Peristyle, specifically that Peristyle\u2019s use of \u201cthe Former Old Taylor Distillery\u201d or \u201cOld Taylor\u201d was protected by the affirmative defense of fair use.\u00a0 The appellate court agreed and affirmed the district court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Trademark Infringement and the Fair Use Defense<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A party is liable for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act if it uses \u201cany word, term, name, symbols, or device\u201d in a way that is \u201clikely to cause confusion or to cause mistakes, or to deceive as to \u2026 affiliation, connection, or association.\u201d\u00a0 15 USC \u00a7 1125(a)(1)(A).\u00a0 The Lanham Act also provides an affirmative defense of fair use when \u201cthe use of the name, term, or device charged to be an infringement is a use, otherwise than as a mark, \u2026of a term or device which is descriptive of and used fairly and in good faith only to describe the goods or services of such party, or their geographic origin.\u201d\u00a0 15 USC \u00a7 1115(b)(4).\u00a0 In other words, for one to take advantage of the fair use defense, the defendant must (1) use the mark in a descriptive or geographic sense, and (2) do so fairly and in good faith.<\/p>\n

In explaining the balance between trademark rights, consumer protection, and one\u2019s ability to describe its own products, the Court quoted Supreme Court Justice Holmes: \u201cWhen the mark is used in a way that does not deceive the public\u2026we see no such sanctity in the word as to prevent it\u2019s being used to tell the truth.\u00a0 It is not taboo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Court Affirmed the District Court\u2019s Finding That Peristyle\u2019s Use Was Fair Use<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Court found that Peristyle used the Old Taylor name in a descriptive and geographic manner.\u00a0 The use referred to the historic location of Colonel Taylor\u2019s distillery (which, as the Court noted, is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Court also found that Peristyle\u2019s use was in good faith.\u00a0 Peristyle referred to the distillery as Old Taylor because it had yet to settle on a brand name for itself.\u00a0 Quoting the district judge, the Court noted that \u201cPeristyle is not attempting to trade off the goodwill of Sazerac.\u00a0 Instead, Peristyle is enjoying the goodwill already ingrained in the property it purchased and is advertising itself for what it is:\u00a0 a distillery first built by Colonel Taylor, subsequently abandoned, but once again purchased, renovated, and restored to life as Castle & Key.\u201d\u00a0 The Court when on to comment that \u201c[t]he contrast is as stark as comparing a bourbon to a scotch.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Court also found that the 400- foot \u201cOld Taylor Distillery\u201d sign on the distillery\u2019s barrel storage warehouse and a 20-foot \u201cThe Old Taylor Distillery Company\u201d sign above the entrance to the main building did not constitute bad faith, because those signs were part of the building before Peristyle purchased it.<\/p>\n

In sum, the Court concluded that Sazerac\u2019s trademark rights did not extend to preclude Peristyle from describing the location of its distillery:<\/p>\n

\u201cPast is prelude when it comes to Peristyle\u2019s future. It plans to put up a Castle & Key sign next to the historic signs before the company opens the yet-to-be-finished distillery to the public. Once they do, visitors will know they are at the historic Old Taylor distillery, where Castle & Key distills its own bourbon. Trademark law demands no more<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sixth Circuit\u2019s Threshold Test Is Shelved for Another Case<\/strong><\/h4>\n

While the Court could have ended there, it took the opportunity to address Sazerac\u2019s criticism of the Sixth Circuit\u2019s threshold \u201ctrademark use\u201d test in examining fair use.\u00a0 Courts in the Sixth Circuit uniquely require the plaintiff to carry a threshold burden to show that the defendant is using the mark \u201cin a trademark way.\u201d\u00a0 If the plaintiff clears that threshold, then the plaintiff has the burden to prove the conventional likelihood of confusion as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in KP Permanent Make-Up, Inc. v. Lasting Impression, I Inc<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sazerac argued that the threshold test has received criticism by the Second Circuit and by Professor Thomas McCarthy, the author of the leading treatise on trademark law.\u00a0 Professor McCarthy asserts that the Lanham Act does not require this threshold test.\u00a0 The Court dismissed these criticisms, asserting that there is \u201clittle daylight\u201d between its threshold test and the \u201cdescriptive use\u201d required by the Lanham Act. \u00a0However, the Court was willing to \u201cacknowledge that fact patterns might arise where our test might make a difference and where we might wish to reconsider whether our test respects the language of the statute.\u201d\u00a0 However, this case was not such an occasion, and the ability to challenge the Sixth Circuit\u2019s threshold test was shelved for another case.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to discuss the issues of fair use, trademark infringement, or bourbon, please contact Danielle DeFilippis<\/a> at dmdefilippis@norris-law.com<\/a> or Jeanne Hamburg<\/a> at jhamburg@norris-law.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent opinion, Sazerac Brands, LLC v. Peristyle, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision finding in favor of a Kentucky bourbon distillery that their use of \u201cthe Former Old Taylor Distillery\u201d or \u201cOld Taylor\u201d was classic fair use of Sazerac\u2019s trademarks OLD TAYLOR and COLONEL E.H. TAYLOR. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[280,62,27,46,311],"tags":[305,306,312,282,300,313,288,289,290,294,314],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSixth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Fair Use of \u201cOld Taylor\u201d to Describe Colonel E.H. 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