The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) will reportedly vote on a proposed rule requiring brewers to collect personal information from purchasers of beer for off-premises consumption. The proposed rule, which requires gathering a customer’s name, address, age and phone number, follows a rule enacted June 1 allowing craft breweries to sell six-packs, large bottles and other containers of beer. The rule’s purpose may relate to enforcement of Alabama’s 288-ounce limit on single purchases, but the ABC has reportedly not publicly commented on the reasoning underlying the proposal. The board will vote on September 28, 2016. See Associated Press, August 5, 2016. Issue 614
Tag Archives alcohol
Taking issue with language that only loosely links alcohol consumption to increased cancer incidence, an article in the July 2016 issue of Addiction suggests that 5.8 percent of all cancer deaths worldwide are caused by alcohol-attributable cancers of the oropharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum, and female breast. Jennie Connor, “Alcohol consumption as a cause of cancer,” Addiction, July 2016. After reviewing “meta-analyses identified from the Medline database and the archives of the International Agency for Research on Cancer,” a researcher with the University of Otago’s Department of Preventive and Social Medicine reports a “dose–response relationship” between alcohol consumption and cancer, “without evidence of threshold of effect” and regardless of beverage type. “Expressions such as ‘alcohol-related cancer’, ‘alcohol-attributable cancer’ and the effect of alcohol on ‘the risk of cancer’ incorporate an implicit causal association, but are easily interpreted as something less than cancer being caused by drinking,” opines the study…
Following a consumer complaint, the Beer Institute has reviewed Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC’s Super Bowl ad featuring comedians Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer discussing the “biggest caucus in the country” and determined the ad does not violate the industry group’s marketing standards. Under the standards, “advertising and marketing materials should not contain languages or images that are lewd or indecent in the context presented and the medium in which the material appears.” The consumer argued that the use of “caucus” could be interpreted as sexually suggestive in context, but the review board disagreed, finding, “From the perspective of a reasonable adult consumer of legal drinking age, the mere use of a sexually suggestive pun would not be seen as ‘vile,’ ‘inciting to lust or lechery,’ patently offensive, or offending recognized standards of good taste.” The board pointed to similar puns appearing on “Live with Kelly & Michael” and “comments from Marco…
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Jim Beam Brands Co. in a lawsuit alleging the company infringes JL Beverage’s Johnny Love Vodka® trademarked logo, an image of puckered lips. JL Beverage Co. v. Jim Beam Brands Co., No. 13-17382 (9th Cir., order entered July 14, 2016). Details on the complaint appear in Issue 387 of this Update. Bottles of Johnny Love Vodka® feature the name of the brand with a set of puckered lips replacing the “O” in “Love,” which are then colored to represent the flavor of the alcohol. In 2010, Jim Beam Brands redesigned the Pucker® Vodka brand to emphasize a similar set of puckered lips and variety of colors alternated to coordinate with the flavor of the vodka. JL Beverage filed an infringement lawsuit after the company’s customers reported confusion about Pucker’s redesign; the district…
A study examining data from 299,381 adults in England and Wales has concluded that a 1-percent increase in alcohol beverage prices would result in 6,000 fewer emergency department (ED) visits for violence-related injuries. Nicholas Page, et al., “Preventing violence-related injuries in England and Wales: a panel study examining the impact of on-trade and off-trade alcohol prices,” Injury Prevention, July 2016. After controlling for the effects of poverty, income inequality, youth spending capacity, and seasonality, researchers with Cardiff University’s Violence Research School report that an increase in alcohol beverage prices is negatively associated with violence-related injuries whether the beverages are sold on-trade (“venues where alcohol is sold and consumed”) or off-trade (“venues where alcohol is sold for household consumption”). “There are important implications from these findings for public health and policy. In the long term, evidence from this study suggests that government policies that seek to reduce poverty and financial inequality…
Diageo will reportedly provide nutritional information on its alcohol product packaging, beginning with Johnnie Walker® Red Label. Changes to Smithwick’s® and Guinness® packaging will follow. The global label will reportedly include the product’s alcohol by volume, serving size, calorie and sugar content and allergens, while the U.S. label will mimic the Nutrition Facts panel format regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In a June 30, 2016, press release, a Diageo official said the change is “based on what consumers want,” noting, “Current labeling on most alcoholic beverages does not reflect how people consume alcohol and therefore does not allow consumers to understand how much alcohol is in their favorite drink or what is in their glass.” See Forbes, June 30, 2016. Issue 610
One day after U.K. citizens voted to leave the European Union, Samuel Adams® brewer Boston Beer Co. filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register “Brexit” for use on hard cider products. U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 87083390 (filed June 24, 2016). Two other applications for Brexit marks were filed the same day in the categories of dietary supplements and clothing. A Boston Beer Co. spokesperson reportedly declined to detail the company’s plans for its Brexit mark. See The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2016. Issue 610
Siding with the owners of the Empire State Building, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has refused to register a logo for “NYC Beer” featuring a drawing of the building. ESRT Empire State Bldg. v. Liang, No. 91204122 (T.T.A.B., order entered June 17, 2016). Claiming ownership of a trademark in a line drawing featuring the building, ESRT Empire State Building filed an opposition to Michael Liang’s application to register a black-and-white image resembling the Empire State Building circled by a black ring and the words “NYC Beer.” TTAB found that the image was likely to dilute ESRT’s mark, finding that Liang’s description in his application of “a building resembling the Empire State Building” belied his argument that the design could be a different building. Accordingly, the board refused to grant the trademark. Issue 609
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has proposed wine labeling revisions to address concerns about the accuracy of labeling information for wines that contain more than 7-percent alcohol by volume but are exempt from label approval requirements. According to TTB, the regulations that govern wine labeling include (i) 27 CFR 24, which requires wine containers to feature “the name and address of the wine premises where bottled or packed; the brand name; the alcohol content; the kind of wine; and the net contents of the container,” and (ii) 27 CFR 4, which governs “the use of one or more grape variety names as a type designation, the use of type designations of varietal significance, the use of vintage dates, and the use of appellations of origin on wine labels,” such as the use of American viticultural area (AVA) names. Wines not intended for interstate or foreign commerce,…
Following June 11, 2016, riots and arrests in Marseille related to a Euro 2016 match between England and Russia, France has reportedly restricted the sale of alcohol in cities hosting the next games in the soccer tournament. Under the measures, public areas and shops in Lille and Lens could not sell alcohol before or during the matches, while bars and cafes were told not to sell drinks in containers that could be used as missiles thrown from terraces. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazenueve told reporters, “I have asked for all necessary measures to be taken to prohibit the sale, consumption and transport of alcoholic drinks in sensitive areas on match days and the day before, and on days when fan zones are open.” An executive from the Football Supporters Federation, which supports England and Wales teams and fans, told the BBC that the ban would not work, arguing that “the…
