Sazerac Triumphs in Lawsuit Against Distributor That Bought Counterfeit Mini Weller Bourbon Bottles on Etsy and Resold Them
Bottles of W.L. Weller bourbon, which are produced by the Sazerac-owned Buffalo Trace Distillery, are pictured. (Photo: Sazerac)
Whiskey producer Sazerac emerged triumphant in a lawsuit against Allocated Liquors, LLC., receiving $30,000 in damages. Allocated, a liquor distribution company, found itself in hot water after selling counterfeit whiskey that appeared to be Sazerac’s expensive and highly rare W.L. Weller bourbon on its website.
Allocated even sold miniature-bottle “gift sets” of Weller. The problem? Sazerac has never produced or sold miniature bottles of Weller-branded bourbon, so where did those mini bottles come from? An unlikely source, it turns out: Etsy, the popular e-commerce website used for selling jewelry, clothing, décor, furniture and much more.
It is unclear what was in the miniature bottles.
Once Sazerac became aware of Allocated’s unauthorized sale of Weller, it sent the distributor a Cease-and-Desist letter demanding Allocated stop selling Weller-branded bourbons and disclose the source of the counterfeit Weller.
Allocated complied, removing the Weller and other Sazerac products from its website and explaining that it had purchased around 10 sets of miniature Weller bottles from an Etsy seller “about a year ago” and now had three sets left in stock, which the company said it “discarded,” declining to provide additional details.
The outcome for Sazerac was positive but not perfect; the company sought between $40,000 and $200,000 in damages but received only $30,000, and had its two additional requests denied: a permanent injunction and to have its attorneys’ fees covered.
Details of the Sazerac Brands, LLC v. Allocated Liquor LLC Court Opinion
On Nov. 18, Sazerac filed an action against Allocated on the grounds of trademark infringement, counterfeiting, false designation of origin and unfair competition. When Allocated failed to respond to the complaint in timely fashion, Sazerac filed the motion for Default Judgement.
Sazerac submitted to the court screenshots of Allocated’s counterfeit Weller-branded products, which Sazerac claims bore “exact copies of the WELLER Marks.”
Sazerac also submitted evidence that customers were confused by these counterfeits, as a customer contacted Sazerac seeking to buy “additional WELLER miniature bottles.”
The court accepted Sazerac’s allegations as true, since it backed them up with evidence and Allocated “made no attempt to challenge the accuracy of the allegations in the complaint.”
Sazerac requested a permanent injunction from the court to ensure that Allocated does not infringe on its copyrights in the future. However, the court determined that since Allocated complied with the Cease-and-Desist letter, “Sazerac has not established that Allocated is likely to ‘continue to willfully infringe,'” and therefore did not grant a permanent injunction.
Sazerac sought between $20,000 and $100,000 per counterfeit mark, for a total between $40,000 and $200,000, to compensate the company for its lost profits, punish Allocated for its infringement and deter future infringement. However, when the court published its opinion on Monday, it revealed it had decided to take into account the fact that Allocated promptly corrected its crimes by taking Sazerac’s Cease-and-Desist letter seriously.
Allocated admitted to selling at least seven of the gift sets at $299.99 each for a profit of at least $2099.93. Considering all circumstances, the court settled on damages totaling $15,000 per counterfeit mark, for a total of $30,000 in statutory damages.
Sazerac also sought to have its attorneys’ fees covered via the Lanham Act, which awards such fees in “exceptional cases,” but had its attempt rebuffed, as the court did not determine this case to be exceptional.
About W.L. Weller Bourbon
Produced by the Buffalo Trace distillery, William Larue Weller is a highly sought after bourbon line. These wheated bourbons are released each year as part of the coveted Buffalo Trace Antique Collection.
The line is named after William Larue Weller, an early Kentucky distiller who lived from 1825 to 1899. With his first wheated bourbon produced in 1849, Weller is said to have been the first person to produce straight bourbon using wheat instead of rye in the mashbill.
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