Bulleit Cements Bourbon-Bottle Trademark-Dilution Win on Appeal

An appeals court upheld a rare jury finding that Redemption Bourbon’s similar bottle designs wrongfully blurred Bulleit’s trademarks—even if they don’t rise to full-on infringement.

Bulleit owner Diageo North America Inc. preserved its victory, based on what’s known as trademark dilution, because there was no basis to overturn the verdict after the jury received instructions that hewed closely to the law, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said. W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd., seller of Redemption Bourbon, argued the jury should have received additional instruction emphasizing that niche fame wasn’t enough to entitle a trademark to protection ...