Bella Union Winery and Union Wine Co. Settle Trademark Dispute
The ongoing litigation between California’s Bella Union Winery, owned by FN Cellars, LLC (owner of Far Niente) and Union Wine Co. of Oregon, over rights in the parties’ respective trademarks (BELLA UNION vs. UNION WINE CO.) has now concluded. On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, the parties filed a stipulation to dismiss all claims currently before the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, including Bella Union’s claims for declaratory relief of noninfringement, which also sought cancellation of the asserted UNION WINE CO. trademark registration, as well as the latter’s counterclaims for infringement of the UNION WINE CO. mark. The parties have not publicly disclosed the terms of settlement. The federal court dismissal will likely be followed shortly by a dismissal of corresponding administrative cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against the BELLA UNION registration.