Los Angeles federal court passed a ruling recently stating that Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd has no appropriate grounds and reasons to oppose the trademark ‘Peaky Blinder’.Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd is the producer of the TV show popularly known as Peaky Blinders. Trademark ‘Peaky Blinder’ is used by Birmingham-based brewery for their business of liquor and beer. The Peaky Blinders series was set in 19th century Birmingham, where the main focus was on a gang, called the Peaky Blinders. It first got aired in the UK back in the year 2014, while on the other hand Sadler’s started selling their alcoholic beverages in the market with an almost identical name in the year 2017. Sadler’s also applied for a US trademark in the same year. However, Mandabach sent a warning letter to Sadler in the year 2018.

The trademark battle between the two began in November last year when Mandabach sued Sadler over the Peaky Blinder name which was used for their liquor collection including gin, whiskey, rum, and dark beer. It was alleged that Mandabach feared confusion amongst the consumers due to an assumed affiliation between the two companies. In their defense, the brewery stated that they decided to use the name due to its historical roots with the gang and further, added that a former owner was one of the descendent of one of the gang members.

However, the producer’s preliminary injunction got rejected because they failed to lay down the immediate requirement of such ruling which could be established by demonstrating the highly similar name having the ability to cause confusion amongst consumers. Moreover, the production company failed to illustrate that the alleged confusion was likely to be of irreparable harm to the TV show’s reputation all over the world.

Additionally, US district Judge Consuelo Marshall, observed: “Mandabach does not prove that they have protectable interests in their unregistered trademark, as their use of ‘Peaky Blinders’ is likely descriptive or suggestive of a television show regarding a group of persons named the Peaky Blinders. Therefore, the show’s choice of such a historical name is one of the reasons for their failure to obtain the injunction.”

Picture Source :