SoDo's Bartholomew Winery Changes Wine Name After Receiving Cease-and-Desist

In the second piece of local cease-and-desist news in a week, Bartholomew Winery in SoDo is changing the name of their Jaxon Bordeaux-style blend after California's Jackson Family Wines wrote them, outlining similarities between the two names. The eight-year-old Bartholomew Winery produces about 1,200 bottles a year, and the husband-and-wine team named Jaxon after their only child. Owner Bart Fawbush told KOMO, "I don't think [the threat is] very legitimate, but as an attorney they have to probably set precedent and send letters out when they see something that could possibly infringe on their copyright."

Fawbush committed to selling only the bottles with the Jaxon label he has left, and said he was flattered by the letter.

"I'm a glass half-gull guy, so we're kind of -- well, we're on someone's radar here," Fawbush told KOMO. "A small micro-winery in Seattle is -- at least on their Google search, we came up." He also added, "My legal team consists of me, We don't have the resources to fight something like that and time as well. I need to sell wine. I don't need to worry about other stuff."

A recent NPR report suggests that disputes over naming rights are likely to continue beyond these recent local developments with Bartholomew and Ballard's Peddler Brewing. Focusing of the challenges for new craft brewers, NPR writes, "For newcomers to the increasingly crowded industry of more than 3,000 breweries, finding names for beers, or even themselves, is increasingly hard to do without risking a legal fight."