Battle of the Blizzards

Fast food chain Dairy Queen recently lost a court battle over the use of its trademarked name for its ice cream product, Blizzard. The lawsuit sought to stop the office supply company W.B. Mason from selling its bottled water product under the same name. Dairy Queen has five trademarks for the name Blizzards and began using it in 1946. W.B. Mason has two trademarks for its Blizzard copy paper. The suit alleged that when W.B. Mason began selling bottled water under the same name, that customers would be confused and think that the bottled water was being sold by Dairy Queen restaurants. The judge, however, ruled that the two products were marketed at distinctly different audiences and that Dairy Queen provided no evidence that the bottled water customers associated the name with Dairy Queen.

In an interesting twist, Dairy Queen has been owned by world-famous investor Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway since 1998. Recently, on news of a potential merger with Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway has been increasing ownership of video game company Activision Blizzard, and now owns a 9.5% share in the company. For someone who reportedly eats McDonald’s three times per week, he seems to have acquired a taste for Blizzards as well.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the economic incentives and benefits for granting/obtaining trademarks?
2. What is the difference between a trademark and a copyright?
3. Pharmaceutical drugs, such as cough medicines and pain relievers, are often made available in generic version after the original drug patent expires. The two versions are usually identical in every way except the name brand (trademark), e.g. Tylenol vs. Acetaminophen. Why might consumers be willing to pay more for the name brand version of the product?

Sources| Reuters: Warren Buffett’s Dairy Queen loses lawsuit over ‘Blizzard’ name; Dairy Queen: Blizzard Treats; WbMason: Blizzard Copy Paper; Entrepreneur: Warren Buffett Says He Eats McDonald’s 3 Times a Week and Pounds Cokes Because He’s Not ‘Bothered’ by Death; Unsplash: Brown wooden tool