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ARTICLE · 03 AUGUST 2017

Trademark Office Issues Tequila Certification Mark Just In Time For National Tequila Day

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A certification mark is a mark used by a person other than its owner to identify goods or services with particular characteristics. Unlike trademarks, which identify for consumers the specific manufacturer...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Foley Hoag LLP
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National Tequila Day is celebrated on Monday, July 24. Tequila is made with the distilled extract of the blue agave plant, which grows in and around the city of Tequila and other parts of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Although agave has been used for the manufacture of fermented beverages since pre-Columbian times, the ancestor of what we now know as "tequila" was reportedly first made in the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors who had run out of imported brandy (which is why they originally called it "Mezcal Brandy").

As far as we can tell, National Tequila Day is primarily an excuse for the promotion of two-for-one margarita deals. However, tequila manufacturers may be engaging in a little extra celebration this year because, in January 2017, a trade association of Mexican companies finally won their battle to register TEQUILA as a certification mark in the United States.

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