The famous three-day musical festival in Bethel New York known as Woodstock has spawned an epic battle between two competing cannabis rivals. The case is now on its third judge and likely headed to a jury trial size years after the initial filing.
Law360 reported that the two factions gathered before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon on April 10, 2023, and that the case is scheduled to head to a jury on April 22. The two sides have been fighting for years over who would have the right to access the cannabis market using the Woodstock name. Cannabis was legalized in the state of New York but remains federally illegal.
Complicating matters is that the two parties have similar names. It is Woodstock Ventures versus Woodstock Roots. Green Market Report reported in 2019 that Woodstock Ventures, the founders of the original 1969 festival sued Woodstock Roots, a Pennsylvania holding company that sells various cannabis accessories under the name Woodstock American Products.
Woodstock Roots countersued saying they had already filed for a trademark to use the Woodstock name at a 50th anniversary event for the festival. However, Woodstock Ventures alleges that the Woodstock Roots group lied to the United States Patent and Trademark Office to get the rights to the name. Woodstock Roots denies this claim.
Woodstock Ventures is also arguing that selling cannabis with its name is a natural outgrowth from the other products it sells using the name. Woodstock Ventures began working with MedMen (OTC: MMNFF) to create cannabis products using the Woodstock brand, angering the Woodstock Roots folks who thought they had a monopoly on using the name. The anniversary festival was canceled and the original judge in the case died. A new judge ruled that Woodstock Ventures would be the only company allowed to use the brand name. However, that didn’t end the case.
In 2021, it seemed the two sides were willing to settle, but it wasn’t to be and they continued fighting. Rochon inherited the case from U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in 2022.
Confusion reigns
Like the rain of the original festival, confusion reigns over the competing names of the fighting companies. Woodstock Ventures named its company “The Woodstock Cannabis Co. LLC” and incorporated it in Colorado. The Woodstock Roots called its company “Woodstock Cannabis Co. LLC” and was incorporated in New York. Both want to market cannabis products in the state of New York.
The case which is expected to last two weeks might finally decide once and for all who gets to market Woodstock cannabis—either the original festival founders or the group that secured the trademark rights.
It’s worth noting that celebrity cannabis brands haven’t been any more popular than lesser-known brands. Plus, the New York market has been plagued with problems in the adult-use rollout, but that doesn’t seem to matter as the two sides spend thousands fighting for the right to sell Woodstock cannabis.
