Glenora Distillery has won the latest round in its ongoing legal battle with the Scotch Whisky Association over its use of the word "glen" in the name of its whisky.The Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, distiller scored a victory in the Federal Court of Appeal that upheld its registration of Glen Breton as the trademark of its single malt.
"It takes a big monkey off our back and financial burden," Glenora Distillery president Lauchie MacLean said. "It allows us to plan and distribute and work with our agents around the world to sell our product."
Glenora introduced Glen Breton to the market in the autumn of 2000, and it has been selling well. Immediately, the Scotland-based SWA, known worldwide for its zealous attacks on any suspected infringement of names that might hinder the Scotch whisy industry, launched legal action.
The SWA contends the name Glen Breton misleads consumers into believing the whisky is distilled and matured in Scotland.
A Canadian federal court initially agreed with the SWA. Then Canada's Trade-Marks Opposition Board sided with Glenora. So, the SWA took its case to federal court again, where it now apparently has lost.
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2 comments:
This is awful stuff. Glenora Distillery should be ashamed to sell it. Stick to the real thing.
Curmudgeon, did you recently change from crack to single malts?
The distillery is in the town of 'Glenville' in Nova Scotia (meaning New Scotland). A lot of the culture of the province derives from Scotland.
Is that a problem? Should Novascotians be 'ashamed' of this heritage? Look into this frivilous lawsuit before commenting.
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