source: http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/24/duck-commander-duckhorn-lawsuit-brand-napa-wine/
DUCKHORN SUES DUCK COMMANDER
12/24/2013 8:58 AM PST
Duck Commander is being sued by a high-end Napa winery with a simple premise ... if it walks like a duck ... then we own it.
Duckhorn Wine Company claims in a lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- its expensive, ultra-premium wine brand -- which goes to nearly $100 a bottle -- is being diluted by Duck Commander's cheap, Walmart line of vino -- which goes for $9.99.
Check out the two labels. Duckhorn claims customers are getting confused by the 2 and buying the cheap stuff at its expense. What's worse for Duckhorn ... the company claims when you search online for duck and wine, all you see is Duck Commander.
And here's what really pissed off Duckhorn, which sold its wine years before Duck Commander. The D.C. blends cheapen the brand, with names like Triple Threat Red Blend, Wood Duck Chardonnay and Miss Priss Pink Moscato!
And to add insult to injury, Duckhorn grouses when Duck Commander launched its brand, it threw a drunken, redneck party in hoity-toity Napa ... a stone's throw from Duckhorn's vineyard.
Duck Commander scoffs at the lawsuit ... claiming that Duckhorn has no monopoly on the word "duck." They cite other duck trademarks, such as Long Duck, Duck Shack, Ugly Duckling, and Duck Duck Goose. But our favorites ... Orthoducks and Ducklebery Grunt!
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/news/duck-commander-accused-of-trademark-infringement-over-wine-brand-112641/
Duck Commander Accused of Trademark Infringement Over Wine Brand
BY JEFF SCHAPIRO , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTERJan 14, 2014 | 4:46 PM
Source: http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/duckhorn-sues-rival-over-duck-wine-label-30686/#WEhWHbRoYJxjMHIr.99
Duckhorn sues rival over duck wine label
Napa Valley wine producer Duckhorn has filed legal action against a rival wine group and retail giant Wal-Mart, claiming that it has trademark rights over the word 'duck' on labels.
Read more at http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/duckhorn-sues-rival-over-duck-wine-label-30686/#WEhWHbRoYJxjMHIr.99
Duckhorn is suing Sutter Home Winery, owned by Trinchero Family Estates, and Wal-Mart over their respective parts in launching and selling a range of wines labelled Duck Commander in the US. The Napa producer is also suing Duck Commander Inc, a company owned by the Robertson family that is behind the popular US television show Duck Dynasty.
In the lawsuit, Duckhorn said that the ‘duck-style marks’ and duck motif on its bottle labels have become inextricably linked to its own wines. Duck Commander’s name and use of a duck logo is ‘confusingly similar’ for wine drinkers, it said.
Tension began building in the autumn of 2013, when Duckhorn discovered that Trinchero Family Estates and the Robertsons’ were set to launch the Duck Commander wines.
Duckhorn said the Robertson family has refused to meet, and that an initial meeting between it and Trinchero has not been followed up.
‘Since the meeting, Duckhorn has requested a response from Trinchero and the Robertson family, but Duckhorn’s request has been ignored,’ the group said in its court filing with the Northern District Court of California, San Francisco Division.
According to the filing, the defendants argued that other third parties have used the word ‘duck’ on wine labels and that their wines appeal to a different type of drinker.
‘As policy, we cannot comment on matters of pending litigation,’ a spokesperson for Trinchero told decanter.com.
Duck Commander wines retail for around $10-a-bottle. Most Duckhorn wines are priced at several times that amount, but Duckhorn said its wines are in ‘the same channels of distribution’ and are presented to the same potential buyers.
BY JEFF SCHAPIRO , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTERJan 14, 2014 | 4:46 PM
Source: http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/duckhorn-sues-rival-over-duck-wine-label-30686/#WEhWHbRoYJxjMHIr.99
Duckhorn sues rival over duck wine label
Napa Valley wine producer Duckhorn has filed legal action against a rival wine group and retail giant Wal-Mart, claiming that it has trademark rights over the word 'duck' on labels.
Read more at http://www.decanter.com/wine-news/duckhorn-sues-rival-over-duck-wine-label-30686/#WEhWHbRoYJxjMHIr.99
Duckhorn is suing Sutter Home Winery, owned by Trinchero Family Estates, and Wal-Mart over their respective parts in launching and selling a range of wines labelled Duck Commander in the US. The Napa producer is also suing Duck Commander Inc, a company owned by the Robertson family that is behind the popular US television show Duck Dynasty.
In the lawsuit, Duckhorn said that the ‘duck-style marks’ and duck motif on its bottle labels have become inextricably linked to its own wines. Duck Commander’s name and use of a duck logo is ‘confusingly similar’ for wine drinkers, it said.
Tension began building in the autumn of 2013, when Duckhorn discovered that Trinchero Family Estates and the Robertsons’ were set to launch the Duck Commander wines.
Duckhorn said the Robertson family has refused to meet, and that an initial meeting between it and Trinchero has not been followed up.
‘Since the meeting, Duckhorn has requested a response from Trinchero and the Robertson family, but Duckhorn’s request has been ignored,’ the group said in its court filing with the Northern District Court of California, San Francisco Division.
According to the filing, the defendants argued that other third parties have used the word ‘duck’ on wine labels and that their wines appeal to a different type of drinker.
‘As policy, we cannot comment on matters of pending litigation,’ a spokesperson for Trinchero told decanter.com.
Duck Commander wines retail for around $10-a-bottle. Most Duckhorn wines are priced at several times that amount, but Duckhorn said its wines are in ‘the same channels of distribution’ and are presented to the same potential buyers.
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