SAN FRANCISCO – A Canadian whiskey maker with a distillery in California is seeking a declaration from the court that it did not infringe a patent regarding a specific whiskey bottle.
Elliot Gillespie and Rockwood Spirits International filed a complaint for declaratory judgment on May 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Prestige Royal Liquors Corp., Gabriel Sezanayev, also known as Gavriyel Sezanayev; Fusion Glassworks LLC; Private Label Distillery LLC; and Does 1 through 10.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that it filed a patent design application in 2009 and 2015 for a bottle for their Gold Bar whiskey. They allege that the defendants conspired to copy their bottle design and that Sezanayev falsely represented to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that he was the original inventor.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek declare that plaintiff does not infringe on the defendants' patents and that that patents are invalid and unenforceable; order for the defendants to remove any picture, photo or reference to the accused products; order for the defendant to submit all goods that infringe the Gillespie patent for destruction; all damages sustained by plaintiff as a result of the defendants' actions; interest; all legal fees and any other relief as the court deems just. They are represented by James M. Mulcahy and Kevin A. Adams of Mulcahy LLP in Irvine.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Case number 3:16-cv-02392-JSC