Jack Daniel's sued over 'Fireball' Google ads

Updated Dec. 22: Sazerac drops lawsuit against Jack Daniel's

Watch out, whiskey drinkers. The cinnamon spirit competition is heating up.

Sazerac — the spirit maker behind the long-standing Fireball Cinnamon Whisky — has filed a lawsuit against Jack Daniel's in Louisville's District Court, claiming the company's use of the term "Fireball" in Google advertisements for its Tennessee Fire whiskey has infringed upon Sazerac's trademark rights.

Sazerac Brands of Louisville and its parent company — Sazarac Company, Inc. — are demanding that Jack Daniel's, a division of Louisville-based Brown-Forman, be enjoined from using the term in any of its marketing, distribution or sales.

Jack Daniel's has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit, but Global PR Manager Svend Jansen has denied any improper practices.

"The lawsuit is about common digital marketing practices, and we will contest this legal action vigorously," Jansen said in a written statement.

Fireball, created in Canada, has been around since 1988 and was first trademarked in 2004, according to court documents.

As its popularity has increased in recent years — with the spirit's sales in gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets jumping from $1.9 million in 2011 to $61 million in 2013 — several competitors have entered the market, including Tennessee Fire this spring.

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The new Jack Daniel's product already has taken off and helped "drive three percentage points of underlying net sales growth in the United States" during the first half of fiscal year 2016, according to a recent Brown-Forman earnings report.

However, Sazerac claims Jack Daniel's has used its established brand to divert customers away from its product.

In October, an attorney representing Sazerac sent a cease and desist letter to Jack Daniel's, asking the company to stop using the term "Fireball" or similar variants in its advertising.

The attorney claimed Sazerac had found examples of Jack Daniel's using "Fireball" as a Google AdWord to trigger paid advertisements that would appear at the top of a search for the term. He added that the ads could cause confusion for consumers who might think they were being led to a website where they could buy Fireball.

A response to the letter was not included in the lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 23.

Scott Zoppoth, a local attorney representing Sazerac, said he disagrees that the ads are common marketing practices and added that this is not the first time the company has filed a lawsuit to protect the Fireball trademark.

"We have many trademarks that go back years and years using this name," Zoppoth said. "... This is just another example of another competitor trying to, we think, improperly use a name that we have had trademarked for quite a long time now."

Jack Daniel's is required to respond to the lawsuit by Dec. 22.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.