Canopy Growth settles Cointreau lawsuit over cannabis beverage name

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Canopy Growth settled a trademark dispute with French orange liqueur producer Rémy Cointreau, which argued that the Canada-based cannabis producer’s line of “Quatreau” beverages infringed on the Cointreau trademark.

The name of Canopy’s CBD drink (pronounced “KWA-tro”) attracted the 2021 lawsuit because it sounds like Cointreau’s brand name (pronounced “KWAN-tro”).

Details of the settlement were not made public.

CBD-infused Quatreau drinks contain hemp-derived CBD in the United States and THC in Canada.

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Cointreau said in its original lawsuit that it was “actively considering” selling water and sodas in the United States, “as such beverages are a logical extension of their Cointreau brand.”

An estimated 12 million bottles of Cointreau are sold worldwide per year, with more than 4 million sold in the U.S. in 2020, according to the complaint.