When I was in London last month, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners of SIPSMITH® independent spirits. I had noticed the fabulous label on the gin with the swan’s neck pipe motif while dining at Berners Tavern in our hotel.
Being that trademarks are never far from my thoughts, I asked if the distillery had registered its fabulous name as a trademark. Of course, the savvy distillery had done so both in Europe (CTM E62511720) and in the United States (SIPSMITH® U.S. Reg. No. 3,858,977).
SIPSMITH® originated in 2009 with its mission to bring gin of uncompromising quality and character back to London. It has succeeded! The distillery’s Prudence is the first copper still to launch in London for nearly 200 years. She is the only one like it in the world. Her sister stills include Patience and Constance. I look forward to taking a tour next time I am in London.
In keeping with the determination to protect its intellectual property, SIPSMITH® has a patented process for distilling its spirits. SIPSMITH® makes the spirits by hand in genuinely small batches. The process is described as old (two hundred years of London distilling history) meets the new.
SIPSMITH® also has a trademark for V.J.O.P.® (U.S. Reg. No. 4,816,021) which stands for A Very Junipery Over Proof gin. The Web site explains that the gin is a result of its own symphony in ‘J’ major.
SIPSMITH® might also consider (if it has not already done so) protecting its iconic “swan’s neck pipe motif above the still” with a trademark registration or copyright.
Not only does SIPSMITH® sell great spirits, but they also are bloggers. We have a lot of fun at DuetsBlog and I am sure they also do at SIPSMITH blog.
As it is the holiday season, pick up a bottle of SIPSMITH® for your holiday parties or bring it as a hostess gift. Happy Holidays!