By Teghan O'Connell
On Wednesday March 12th, 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released its decision in the case of Bullshine Distillery LLC v. Sazerac Brands LLC.[1]
The case started in 2015, when Bullshine Distillery applied for a trademark of the phrase “Bullshine Firebull.”
Sazerac Brands, the owner of the trademark “Fireball” in relation to the whiskey drink, filed an opposition, alleging a likelihood of confusion. Bullshine filed an answer to the opposition with a claim that “Fireball” was too generic to be trademarked, explaining the name “Fireball” was used to describe a spiced whiskey drink long before Sazerac Brands trademarked the phrase.
[2] To back the claim, Bullshine pointed to Dr. McGillicuddy's Fireball trademark for a similar whiskey drink (Note: Dr McGillicuddy’s trademark is owned by Sazerac Brands as well [3]) and the Atomic Fireball trademark for a hot cinnamon candy. [4]
TTAB, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, decided the “Fireball” trademark was not generic but Bullshine’s mark did not create a likelihood of confusion. Both parties appealed the decision, Bullshine claiming the TTAB did not properly review their claim of “Fireball” being a generic phrase and Sazerac claiming Bullshine’s infringement had not been properly reviewed. [5]
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the claims and upheld the TTAB’s decision. [6] The court came to this conclusion after deciding the mark “Fireball” is so conceptually weak that no confusion would occur but was still identifiable enough that the court protected Sazerac’s trademark. [7]
[1] Bullshine Distillery LLC v. Sazerac Brands, LLC, No. 23-1682 (Fed. Cir. 2025)
[2] Eileen McDermott, CAFC Affirms TTAB Ruling that FIREBALL is Not Generic but Competitior’s Mark Won’t Confuse, IP Watchdog (Mar. 12, 2025), https://ipwatchdog.com/2025/03/12/cafc-affirms-ttab-ruling-fireball-not-generic-competitors-mark-wont-confuse/id=187183/
[3] Sazerac Brands, Dr McGillicuddy’s Trademark, https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=88033182&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch
[4] Dennis Crouch, Federal Circuit Rejects “Once Generic, Always Generic” Rule in Trademark Dispute Between Whiskey Makers, PatentlyO (Mar. 12, 2025), https://patentlyo.com/patent/2025/03/federal-circuit-rejects-trademark.html
[5] Eileen McDermott, CAFC Affirms TTAB Ruling that FIREBALL is Not Generic but Competitior’s Mark Won’t Confuse, IP Watchdog (Mar. 12, 2025), https://ipwatchdog.com/2025/03/12/cafc-affirms-ttab-ruling-fireball-not-generic-competitors-mark-wont-confuse/id=187183/
[6] Blake Brittain, Sazerac’s ‘Fireball’ is valid whisky trademark, US appeals court says, Reuters (Mar. 12, 2025, 3:04 PM), https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/sazeracs-fireball-is-valid-whisky-trademark-us-appeals-court-says-2025-03-12/
[7] Eileen McDermott, CAFC Affirms TTAB Ruling that FIREBALL is Not Generic but Competitior’s Mark Won’t Confuse, IP Watchdog (Mar. 12, 2025), https://ipwatchdog.com/2025/03/12/cafc-affirms-ttab-ruling-fireball-not-generic-competitors-mark-wont-confuse/id=187183/