Expert Perspectives on Biggest Court Cases

An appellate team led by Nicole Saharsky of Mayer Brown and Brian Gilpin of Godfrey & Kahn lands a runner-up spot for scoring a win for U.S. cheesemakers in a trademark scrum over the use of the name “gruyere.” The Fourth Circuit this week affirmed a lower court decision turning back a legal challenge from consortiums of cheesemakers from Switzerland and France who argued the gruyere name should be considered a certification mark applicable only to cheese produced in the Gruyère region. But Senior Judge Roger Gregory wrote for the unanimous panel: “The consortiums cannot overcome what the record makes clear: cheese consumers in the United States understand ‘Gruyere’ to refer to a type of cheese, which renders the term generic.” The team also included Minh Nguyen-Dang of Mayer Brown as well as Zachary Willenbrink and Jennifer Gregor of Godfrey & Kahn.