What to Know
- A judge says the owners of the Woodstock music festival name can license it to create a marijuana brand
- Woodstock Ventures wanted to create a weed brand celebrating the 50th anniversary of the famed original gathering
- Woodstock Ventures, which produced the 1969 Woodstock festival, and Woodstock Roots sued each other last year over usage
A judge says the owners of the Woodstock music festival name can license it to create a marijuana brand marking the 50th anniversary of the famed gathering.
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe (GAHR'-duh-fee) on Monday rejected a claim that the deal would infringe on the name of another company, Woodstock Roots.
Gardephe concluded the nature of the festival's planned Woodstock-branded recreational marijuana and its competitor's cannabis-related "smokers' articles" are different.
Woodstock Ventures, which produced the 1969 Woodstock festival, and Woodstock Roots sued each other last year. Woodstock Roots does business as Woodstock American Products.
Woodstock Ventures argued recreational marijuana falls within its "natural zone of expansion" under federal trademark law. It is working on a deal with a major marijuana dispensary.
Gardephe's ruling eliminated a temporary order blocking the deal.
