On July 24, the Louisville Courier Journal reported that Maker’s Mark filed a lawsuit over a trademark dispute against Wigglewow, a nonprofit organization that offers adults with special needs employment opportunities. The lawsuit centered around “Maker’s Bark,” a gourmet dog treat shaped like the brand’s iconic bottle — complete with red wax.
The spirits giant claimed that Wigglewow “knowingly and intentionally infringed upon and diluted the value of Maker’s Mark’s famous brand,” by creating the Maker’s Bark dog treats.
Mark Pfeifer founded Wigglewow, and the gourmet dog treat company offers employment to adults with special needs. An outlet shop in Simpsonville asked Wigglewow to make alcohol-themed dog treats, and Pfeifer claimed he would try, despite his previous experience in corporate America.
“You don’t screw with a brand because they’ll put you out of business,” Pfeiffer expressed to the outlet.
Pfeiffer researched and found that no company took the IP for dog-themed riffs on some of the big spirits brands. He claimed he was looking into Jim Bone, Pawtron, White Paw, Wooford Reserve and Maker’s Bark. He filed for trademarks for Maker’s Bark, Wooford Reserve, White Paw, Pawtron on March 27, 2022, and Jim Bone on April 25, 2022. In 2023, the trademarks were abandoned according to the Courier Journal.
The outlet reported that Maker’s Mark appealed to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, claiming the idea for the dog treats was Maker’s Mark’s, and a part of the company’s “efforts to expand the Maker’s Mark brand” well before Wigglewow attempted to secure the trademark.
Maker’s Mark claimed in the appeal that it selected Wigglewow as a potential partner for the treats, and the company allegedly asked Wigglewow to help create dog treats for Rudy Green Dog Food at the end of 2019. Maker’s Mark claims that Wigglewow ignored the offer and chose to launch a line of dog treats without the company’s permission.
“To make matters worse, Applicant’s pet treats mimic the shape, coloring and design of Maker’s Mark bottle,” the claim read.
The bourbon behemoth alleges it sent Pfeifer two letters, and Maker’s Mark’s Managing Director Rob Samuels even alleged that he reached out and offered a proposal, inviting Pfeifer to the distillery during an event where service dogs would visit the distillery. He alleged that he offered WiggleWow the opportunity to distribute treats to the service dogs. The condition was that the treats couldn’t look anything like their current design, and that Samuels would have to approve them. The final condition was that Pfeiffer would have to remove his trademark application.
Pfeiffer decided against that and was hit with the suit. He shared with the outlet that he’s going to cooperate with Maker’s Mark.
“I don’t have a spare $40,000 to $700,000 to fight them through USPTO to keep the brand. So, we are in the process of just folding over and giving it back to them. It’s just not worth it to me. My goal is to provide careers to adults with special needs. I was hoping they’d support us with that and now that we’re a non-profit, maybe even donate money.”
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