Posts Tagged: "alcohol labeling"

Federal Alcohol Labeling Following Tam and Brunetti

The U.S. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently struck down certain trademark registration requirements on First Amendment grounds. These cases raise questions about whether similar alcohol labeling requirements likewise violate the First Amendment. In the U.S., alcohol is a regulated product at both the state and federal level. Federally, the Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act) sets forth the labeling requirements for distilled spirits, wine and malt beverages. Alcohol producers must get alcohol labels approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). These approvals come in the form of a Certificate of Label Approval/Exemption or “COLA.” The labeling requirements of the FAA Act are detailed in 27 U.S.C. §205(e) and prohibit labels that “are disparaging of a competitor’s products or are false, misleading, obscene, or indecent…” See 27 U.S.C. §205(e)(4). The associated rules are promulgated in 27 C.F.R. Parts 4, 5, and 7. These rules similarly prohibit statements on labels that are “disparaging of a competitor’s products,” or which are “obscene or indecent.” 27 C.F.R. §4.39, §5.42, and §7.29.