Lost in a blizzard: Buffett’s Dairy Queen TM loss

23-06-2022

Lost in a blizzard: Buffett’s Dairy Queen TM loss

shutterstock_353934110_Kent Sievers

The failure of the billionaire’s ice cream chain to win its ‘Blizzard’ dispute shows that a formidable IP enforcement strategy still needs to be backed by solid evidence, finds Muireann Bolger.

Owners of large brands have the might and means to assail smaller companies with a flurry of lawsuits if they detect any sign of trademark infringement and/or dilution. 

But a trademark loss incurred by billionaire Warren Buffett this month has shown that smaller players can shield themselves from litigation by offering persuasive evidence against the claims.

This week, it emerged that US office supplier WB Mason prevailed against Warren Buffett’s American Dairy Queen (ADQ), after a district court of Minnesota ruled that it had not infringed by using the Blizzard name on its bottled spring water.


Warren Buffett, Dairy Queen, Blizzard, trademarks, dispute

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