Sones Cellars make an interesting white wine - it's a blend of Viognier, Torrontes, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. They originally named it "La Sirena", however there's already a winery by that name in Napa owned by Heidi Peterson-Barrett. So following a letter from the lawyers the name was changed to the Siren Song. Problem solved? Apparently not.According to the lawyers, Siren Song is still too close to the trademark. Sones can't use the name Siren in any form. Or Mermaid. Or Manatee, Dugong, Seacow - or any sea creature whatsoever, lest the poor customer somehow get confused. So even "Sea Urchin" would be out of bounds.
Fortunately the new labels hadn't been printed, so the wine is currently called "White Table Wine", which apparently even the lawyers couldn't object to.
Which reminds me of a joke - what's the difference between a sea urchin and a room full of lawyers? A sea urchin has the pricks on the outside.
1 comments:
I'm in no way a lawyer, but I've seen this sort of thing many times. Over-active lawyers with their cease and desist orders. From what I can tell, this is frivolous and would not hold up in court. Most likely it's a legal team making work for themselves, so they look good to their employer. Very parasitic, if you ask me.
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