Buffalo Trace parent company Sazerac has won its lawsuit against a distributor selling counterfeit W. L. Weller bottles, according to a July 3 court filing.
The spirits corporation initially sent a cease-and-desist request to online retailer Allocated Liquor LLC after discovering its site was offering miniature bottles of W. L. Weller products in gift sets, court documents state. Allocated Liquor was not authorized to sell and advertise Weller bourbon, and further, Sazerac has never offered mini bottles from the brand. The retailer responded that it purchased around 10 gift sets from an unnamed seller on e-commerce platform Etsy, which does not permit its sellers to offer alcohol as it’s not a legal liquor distributor.
Allocated Liquors sold at least seven sets of the miniature bottles before removing the listing from its website. The retailer discarded the remaining three sets after Sazerac’s request for them to cease sales. The recent court documents did not disclose information on the liquid inside the bottles or the original Etsy seller.
The imitation bottles, listed for $299.99 per set, had “nearly identical” labels as W.L. Weller’s typical packaging and caused confusion among consumers, Sazerac alleges. They also claim that one person has even contacted the company about purchasing “additional Weller miniature bottles.”
In the November 2022 lawsuit, Sazerac accused Allocated Liquor of trademark infringement, counterfeiting, false designation of origin, and unfair competition, and requested $20,000 to $100,000 in damages per counterfeit label. On Monday, the spirits giant was awarded $15,000 per counterfeit mark for a total of $30,000 in damages.
