Vermont Hard Cider Co. filed a complaint against Woodchuck Coffee Roasters in U.S. District Court last week seeking an unspecified financial award and an injunction preventing further trademark infringement over the woodchuck name, a colloquial term for a hardy Vermonter.
In the suit, the Middlebury company says it’s spent substantial money building brand awareness for its Woodchuck Hard Cider since 1991. Woodchuck has grown to become the nation’s best-selling brand of hard cider, with annual sales of more than 3 million cases, the complaint says.
The company says Woodchuck Coffee Roasters’ coffee logo is ‘‘strikingly similar’’ to its hard cider label, with an oval logo with a woodchuck sitting on its haunches. The logo and name are creating confusion and have led to Vermont residents asking if the cider company has gone into the coffee business, the suit says.
.
0 comments (click to read or post):
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment...I do moderate each comment so it may not appear immediately...and please be nice! You can also comment using Disqus (below) or even comment directly on Facebook (bottom).