Kerrygold Butter and Wisconsin Dairy Settle Trademark Dispute
A Wisconsin creamery selling “Irishgold” butter and the
distributor of Kerrygold butter have agreed to a consent decree
that will end a trademark dispute. Ornua Foods N. Am. v.
Eurogold USA, No. 17-0510 (E.D. Wis., motion filed July 25,
2017). After Wisconsin began enforcing a 1950s law requiring all
butter sold in the state to bear a state or federal grade mark,
effectively banning all imports and out-of-state artisanal products,
Wisconsin dairy Old World Creamery began selling its own butter
in packaging similar to Kerrygold. Additional details about the
ban and trademark suit appear in Issue 631 of this Update.
Under the consent decree, the dairy will (i) continue to sell its
Irish-style butter but will amend the mark to “Euro Gold” or
“Euro-Gold”; (ii) withdraw its trademark application for
“Irishgold” butter; (iii) refrain from using “substantially similar”
packaging; (iv) not sell any Irish-themed dairy products under a
mark that includes the word “gold”; and (v) not use Celtic fonts in
its marketing.
Issue 642
