Fireball® Makers Challenge “Fire Flask” Malt Beverage

Sazerac Co., maker of Fireball® cinnamon whiskey, has filed a trademark infringement action against Stout Brewing Co. alleging that the brewer’s Fire Flask displays trademarks and trade dress designed to look like Fireball®. Sazerac Co., Inc. v. Stout Brewing Co., No. 15-0107 (W.D. Ky., filed August 14, 2015). Fire Flask is a malt beer product sold in clear bottles with a red cap and a front label featuring an illustration of a “demon-man with flames emanating from his head” in an “orange-yellow, red, and black” color scheme. The Fire Flask mark “is likely to give rise to confusion among consumers as to the source or sponsorship of Defendant’s products,” the complaint asserts. Sazerac seeks an injunction, corrective advertising, product recalls, an accounting, treble damages, and mark invalidation by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Issue 576