David Pierre-Louis, owner of Lucid cocktail lounge in the U District, has been trying to get his own brand of spiced vodka, Dicül, trademarked since November 2013. But he’s been thwarted by Diageo, a London-based multinational company that is “the world’s largest producer of spirits,” according to Wikipedia. The gist of the problem is that the Diageo company Dickel, a Tennessee-based whiskey manufacturer, thinks the name "Dicül" is too similar to its brand.

“I’ve been consulting with my attorneys, trying to find a happy medium in regards to what they are allowing us what to do with our business,” Pierre-Louis says. “[The case is] stagnating just a little bit, but it’s costing me money just to continue fighting it. The mark’s completely different. Diageo really doesn’t have a leg to stand on, but they have the financial means to keep pushing me and try to smoke me out of the situation.”

It seems like Diageo is underestimating people’s ability to distinguish between two different kinds of drinks. “Sure,” Pierre-Louis concurs. “Mine is a spiced vodka and theirs is a whiskey. Mine is brown—I mean, it’s an infusion, but the labeling, the vision behind it, Dicül, the name of my lounge spelled backward” are all different. “At the moment, I’m in the midst of transferring distillers, switching from my old distiller in Woodinville. As I’m trying to decide who to go with, I need to be extra careful with that because it puts whoever I’m working with in a position where it makes it difficult for them to take me on as a private label.”

Diageo and Dicül have been going back and forth on this issue for almost a year. Pierre-Louis says that Diageo wants him to cease production. “We’ve requested that they submit their point of discovery—why they think we’re a threat to their brand.” He's been mulling over a name change, too, because mounting attorney fees have become burdensome. “I’m thinking about fighting this on my own," Pierre-Louis says, "based on the principle that it’s a completely different brand, a completely different product. It’s pronounced completely different. Dicül has an umlaut on the ‘u.’ It’s a completely different name.

“This is another example of a big corporation trying to smoke small people out,” Pierre-Louis continues. (See Bethany Jean Clement's recent post on Our/Seattle Vodka for a similar scenario.) “It’s the 1 percent trying to control and dominate the industry in regards to craft. It makes it difficult for us to do what we’re doing when somebody’s always trying to bully you.”

The last time Pierre-Louis heard from Diageo’s attorney was last week. “We’re waiting to hear back with regard to what their point of discovery was so we can make our response to them.”

I’ve contacted Dickel about this matter and will update the post if/when they respond.