Maker's Mark wins legal ruling on seal
Maker's Mark Bourbon has won an injunction in a US court preventing Jose Cuervo tequila from using a dripping red wax seal on its bottles.
Fortune Brands' Maker's Mark Bourbon has won an injunction in a US court preventing Jose Cuervo tequila from using a dripping red wax seal on its bottles.
A judge in the District Court for western Kentucky ruled that the free-form wax seal used by Makers Mark - which gives the appearance that the wax is running down the neck of the bottle - is a well-known and valid trademark.
The ruling effectively bars Jose Cuervo and distributor Diageo North America from use of a dripping red wax seal on any of the tequila's brands, though Cuervo had already indicated it would stop using such packaging after receiving the lawsuit.
Maker's Mark president Bill Samuels said: "We hand-dip and personalise every Maker's Mark bottle.
"This has been our signature trademark since my mom dipped our very first bottle and always well be.
"We were confident this would be the outcome and the formal result is very gratifying."
Federal judge John G Heyburn II ruled that the seal "has in some ways taken on a life of its own" and "cultivated something akin to a cult following of the brand among whisky enthusiasts".
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