A Long Island distillery is taking Saudi-backed LIV Golf to court, alleging that the league’s use of “LIV” for branded apparel and alcoholic beverages is infringing on the spirit maker’s registered trademark.
Long Island Spirits, a craft distillery located on the east end of Long Island, filed a federal lawsuit in Central Islip earlier this week that alleges the LIV Golf violated both New York and federal trademark laws. The company is asking the court to enjoin the golf league from using “LIV” in relation to apparel or alcohol sales.
Long Island Spirits is also seeking unspecified damages from LIV.
The basis the lawsuit stems from the company registering the LIV brand in 2007 and the company’s marketing of LiV brand vodkas and additional spirits. LIV Golf’s move into the merchandise and alcohol space has created confusion for consumers, retailers and distributors, according to the lawsuit.
Long Island Spirits uses both LIV and LiV for its branding on its website and in the lawsuit.
“LIV Golf has deployed billions of dollars in marketing efforts aimed at buying prominence, including by expanding into ‘LIV’ branded alcohol and apparel — that is, precisely the areas in which LIV owns long-standing marks and where it has built its reputation for authenticity,” Long Island Spirits said in the lawsuit.
“This escalating campaign of infringement benefits LIV Golf while squandering LIV’s goodwill and leading to substantial consumer confusion,” the suit continued. “That confusion is likely to increase in the near future, as LIV Golf’s executives have recently touted their intentions to expand the sales of LIV-branded apparel and alcoholic beverages, including a vodka-based cocktail it calls the ‘LiV Clubhouse Cooler.’”
The lawsuit also describes the situation as “willful and intentional unfair competition and misuse of the LIV Marks” by the golf league.
“Consumers’ mistaken belief that LIV is in league with a highly controversial and heavily commercialized venture backed by an immense foreign sovereign wealth fund is antithetical to the authentic, pioneering, craft spirit LíV brand,” the Long Island company states in the legal filing.
LIV Golf has not publicly commented on the suit.
Long Island Spirits was founded in 2007 and produces whiskey, liqueurs and LiV-branded vodka, gin and ready-to-drink cocktails.
The LIV acronym originally stood for Long Island Vodka.
LIV Golf was formed in 2021 in a dramatic moment for the sport of golf that created a civil war that has not cooled since.
The suit was filed before LIV Golf is slated to host its first tournament in the New York metropolitan area in August at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
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