Regarding the Jack Strong brand itself, the defendant argues that the mark is associated by Polish consumers exclusively with the film Jack Strong and its protagonist, Ryszard Kukliński. In reality, however, the image on the bottles is of the president of the producing company, not a character from the film.
During the court proceedings, the question arose as to whether the figure of Kukliński, which is not recognized outside of Poland, could in any way influence the association of the brand with the popular Jack Daniel’s. According to the lawyers of the defendant company, this is unlikely, primarily due to the fact that in Poland, whisky is not the most popular type of alcohol. Furthermore, the bottles of the disputed alcoholic beverages differ from each other in an obvious way.
Interestingly, the Polish company, during the court proceedings, argued that Jack Daniels had not proven the renowned character of its trademark, which, according to them, was confirmed by old studies dating back to 2014. Furthermore, the two products and their labels should not be compared, as Jack Daniels is an American whiskey, while Jack Strong is a Scotch whisky.
The American side did not take long to respond with a sharp retort. According to the representatives of the Californian manufacturer, the drink branded as Jack Strong cannot be classified as Scotch whisky for a simple reason – only part of the production process takes place in Scotland.
The next hearing date was set for October 16, 2019.
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