March 29, 2017
Dan Aykroyd’s Skull Vodka Co. Wins Booze Bottle IP Trial
Law360, Los Angeles (March 29, 2017, 2:23 PM EDT) — A tequila company ripped off the distinctive skull-shaped bottle of comedy legend Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head Vodka, a California federal jury found on Wednesday, handing Crystal Head a win in its trade dress infringement suit.
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After the verdict was read, Aykroyd told Law360 that it had been a “privilege” to see his tax dollars at work, providing the recently-opened new downtown Los Angeles courthouse and a panel of “fair and wise” jurors to try his case. Aykroyd said that, having lost a first jury trial in the case before the Ninth Circuit ordered a new trial, the difference in two verdicts was the difference between “exhilaration and pain.”
Akyroyd also touted the work of his attorney, David Berg of Berg & Androphy – who is an old friend of Crystal Head co-founder John Alexander – and the rest of the trial team
“We couldn’t have won it without him,” he said. “We had a big high powered firm before and somehow they missed a few things.”
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Globefill Inc. is represented by David Berg, Michael M. Fay and Jenny H. Kim of Berg & Androphy, and Hernan D. Vera of Bird Marella Boxer Wolpert Nessim Drooks Lincenberg & Rhow PC.
The case is Globefill Inc. v. Elements Spirits Inc., case number 2:10-cv-02034, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.