Protecting Voss Water

At the Vanity Fair Oscar party, Victoria Beckham slides a bottle of Voss water across the table to her husband—he has a game tomorrow and the vodka tonics aren’t going to help. A VF photographer captures the moment. Victoria, Becks and a bottle of Voss. Three brands. Each worth millions of dollars. When it comes to the latter, Merchant & Gould attorneys Andy Ehard and Scott Johnston plan to keep it that way.

They ensure that no one copies the distinctive look and feel of Voss, the high-end artesian water imported from Norway, packaged in a sleek, cylindrical bottle. “There are a lot of people who are trying to copy its design,” says Ehard, who, along with Johnston, represents Voss and other established food and drink labels—such as Fruit Stripe Bubble Gum and Jack Link’s Beef Jerky.

Voss infringers have included an Italian wine company, a Serbian vodka producer and a South American green-tea-infused-water maker. All copied Voss’ trademarked bottle shape. “On the shelf, these products look very much alike,” Ehard says. “We’re protecting overall cylindrical designs.”

Merchant & Gould’s Jack Clifford, who is also on the Voss account, fought the Italian company in court and obtained a favorable verdict. The Serbian and South American suppliers have been warned not to bring their products into the U.S.

“The U.S. is [Voss’] biggest market,” says Ehard. “It’s very important that we educate these infringers. We put them on notice: ‘If you bring this to the U.S., we’re going to hold our brand against you.’”

That could mean sending a simple cease-and-desist letter or instigating a complicated courtroom battle.

“Trademark cases are kind of a sprint,” says Johnston. “You have to act fast and do your best to present your case as quickly as possible. Convince [the infringers] out of the game: ‘You’re gonna lose and it’s in your best interest to stay out of this.’”

They’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that no Voss look-alikes ever share a table with the rich and famous at a VF party—or anywhere else.