SAM YOU WIN..
Outlander star loses whisky appeal after Sassenach brand is banned in Europe
OUTLANDER star Sam Heughan has lost a legal battle with a German distillery over the name of his whisky brand.
The actor launched his own Scotch last year called The Sassenach – the nickname his character Jamie Fraser uses for his on-screen love interest, Claire, in the time travel drama.
His firm The Great Glen Company applied to register the brand name as a trademark to sell the whisky across Europe.
But the move was opposed by the Sasse distillery in Schoppingen, which said it was too similar to its own “Sasse” trademarks which it uses to sell whiskies and brandies.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office, which rules on trademark disputes, issued a ruling which upheld the opposition and said The Sassenach cannot be used as a trademark for whiskies.
Heughan’s legal team tried to have the decision overturned on appeal but that has now been rejected.
The 41-year-old’s lawyers described the word “Sassenach” as a disparaging term for an English person or a Lowland Scot. They said it would be well known in Germany because Outlander was a popular programme and argued there would be no confusion.
But the Sasse distillery denied the average German customer would know what the term meant and welcomed the decision – adding that Heughan could still sell his whisky in Germany if he changed the name.
It said: “The Sasse distillery has established itself nationwide in the industry and made a name – this should continue to upheld and preserved.
“This does not exclude the possibility that the Great Glen Company sells whisky in Germany. With a modified name, this would be possible without any problems.
“Marketing under modified names is common in the world of spirits.”
In its written ruling, the Fifth Board of Appeal of the EUIPO said: “About half of the viewers of Outlander were young people. Young people under legal age who cannot be served and sold alcoholic beverages do not form part of the relevant public of the goods at issue.”
Heughan’s representatives were approached for comment.