Just in:
Meta pixel ruling marks watershed in EU data privacy // MCP Ignites AI Agent Revolution Amid Looming Security Quagmire // Dong Yuhui’s Fujian Journey: The Sea’s Lesson – 30% Destiny, 70% Determination // Nigeria’s Coastal Highway Passes $747 m Funding Milestone // Uweb, the Digital Asset Education Institute, Announces Successful Completion of a US$3 million Angel Funding Round // UAE Championing Balanced Oil Markets Through OPEC+ Engagement // CGTN: Beauty in diversity: How wisdom at Nishan Forum inspires global modernization // Galaxy AI Elevates On‑Device Intelligence with Privacy at Core // Golden Bull Award 2025 Winners Revealed // Celebratory 911 Club Coupe Marks Half-Century Porsche Partnership // Coffee Chains Join Bitcoin Mania with Bold Treasury Moves // Qingzhen’s Zhanjie Town Leverages Ecological Resources to Drive Industrial Upgrading and Integrate Culture and Tourism for Rural Revitalization // Behomes Launches Behomes Hub – Cashback & Networking App for Real Estate Professionals // IIT Delhi and TeamLease EdTech Kick‑start AI for Healthcare Executive Programme // Entrepreneurs Turn to Harsh AI ‘Red Teamers’ to Stress‑Test Ideas // MENA Investment Banking Fees Slip Amid Equity Underwriting Lull // Tokyo Real Estate Set for $75 Million Blockchain Shake‑Up // Caltex Commemorates SG60 with Launch of Limited Edition National Day Picnic Sets // Can India Emerge As The Trusted Leader Of Global South Like Earlier Years? // $1 Bn Pact to Launch Digital Real‑World Asset Platform //

Sutter Home sues Shmaltz Brewing over 'Menage a Trois' trademark

By Jonathan Stempel

ADVERTISEMENT

Shmaltz Brewing Co says some of its beer names, including several with Jewish themes, “can be a bit unorthodox.” Now a large California winery wants one of those names to be reformed.

Sutter Home Winery Inc sued Shmaltz late on Monday, accusing the brewery of infringing its “Menage a Trois” trademark by selling a 12-pack of its beers with the “MANNAge a Trois” name.

Shmaltz, whose beers include the He’Brew line, uses MANNAge a Trois for the sale of its Hop Manna, Hop Mania and Hop Momma India pale ales.

But Sutter Home, perhaps best known for its white zinfandel, called the name “confusingly similar” to Menage a Trois, which it said it began using in 1997 and trademarked in 2006.

Sutter Home said it has sold more than $1 billion of Menage a Trois red, white, rose and sparkling wine since 2009, including over 32 million bottles worth in excess of $193 million last year, and spends millions to promote it.

“Plaintiff owns extremely valuable goodwill in its Menage a Trois mark and the mark has extraordinary financial value,” and Shmaltz should not “unjustly benefit from such association,” Sutter Home said in its complaint.

The lawsuit seeks triple and punitive damages, and a name change. It was filed in San Francisco federal court.

Shmaltz and its lawyer did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment. The company is based in Clifton Park, New York.

There were more than 4,200 U.S. craft breweries last year, according to the Brewers Association, and the proliferation has resulted in many lawsuits over beer names.

One early alternative came a decade ago from Colorado’s Avery Brewing Co and California’s Russian River Brewing Co.

Upon realizing they both sold Belgian-style ales called Salvation, they blended them to create Collaboration Not Litigation Ale.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)

(via WSJ)


Notice an issue?

Arabian Post strives to deliver the most accurate and reliable information to its readers. If you believe you have identified an error or inconsistency in this article, please don't hesitate to contact our editorial team at editor[at]thearabianpost[dot]com. We are committed to promptly addressing any concerns and ensuring the highest level of journalistic integrity.


ADVERTISEMENT