McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsUnderstanding the Three-Tier System: Its Impacts on U.S. Craft Beer and You
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 8, 2017
Posted In Distribution, Trade Practices
Understanding the U.S. market for alcohol beverages, including beer, requires an understanding of the three-tier system. Whether viewed with deep reverence or great scorn, it is a system of distribution that delivers the vast majority of beer to the mouths of thirsty American drinkers. Let’s take a few moments to understand that system a little...
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Proposed Regulation in Texas on Name and Address Labeling for Malt Beverages
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 7, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Trade Practices
Last week, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (“TABC”) circulated a draft amendment of Texas’ name and address labeling regulation for “malt beverages” (beer). A copy of the proposed amended regulation (with a redline of the changes) is can be found here. Consistent with TTB regulations on name and address labeling for malt beverages, the current...
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Trump Administration Indicates Plans to Increase Enforcement of Recreational Marijuana Laws
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 27, 2017
Posted In Cannabis, Legislation, Uncategorized
To follow up on our prediction last month that the Trump Administration may take a more aggressive stance toward the legalization of marijuana, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated during the February 23 daily briefing that he anticipates greater federal enforcement of marijuana laws. Spicer emphasized the distinction between medical marijuana (the legalization of...
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The Uncertain Legal Future of Wine Direct Shipping by the Retail Tier
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 17, 2017
Posted In Distribution, Legislation
The Supreme Court of the United States’ 2005 decision in Granholm v. Heald, which required states allowing their own wineries to direct-ship to consumers to also grant such privileges to out-of-state wineries, marked the beginning of a new era of wine direct-shipping. With the relaxation of wine shipping laws around the country following Granholm—nearly every...
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President Trump Issues Executive Order Aimed at Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 13, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Alcohol Excise Taxes, Food Safety and FDA, Legislation, Non-Beverage Alcohol, Trade Practices, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On January 30, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 13771, entitled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.” A link to Executive Oder 13771 appears here. The Order provides: For Fiscal Year 2017 (which ends September 30, 2017): For each new “regulation” published for notice and comment “or otherwise promulgated,” the agency in question must “identify”...
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The TTB Proposes New Definition of Hard Cider
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 10, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Alcohol Excise Taxes, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On January 23, 2017 the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) published a Temporary Rule and a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) related to the new definition of hard cider. Congressional action required a new definition when Congress amended the Internal Revenue Code in December 2015 by enacting the Protecting Americans from Tax...
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Avoiding Misleading Labeling
By Eleanor B. Atkins and McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 8, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, TTB COLAs and Formulas
Current conventional wisdom in the craft beer business holds that being local helps sell more beer. This has led many brewers to emphasize their local roots on their labels and in their marketing efforts. In some ways, the trend has a “back to the future” feel, as labels and marketing materials once again feature place...
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Eighth Circuit Hints at Unconstitutionality of Missouri Restrictions on Alcohol Advertising
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 24, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, Trade Practices
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit weighed in on the legality of restrictions on alcohol advertising under the First Amendment, issuing an opinion in Missouri Broadcasters Association v. Lacy that could eventually broaden free speech protections for alcohol beverage advertisements. After the lower court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss and...
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The Trump Administration’s View on Marijuana: Reading the (Tea) Leaves
By McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 18, 2017
Posted In Uncategorized
The incoming Trump Administration may usher in a more hostile climate to state efforts to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana and products that contain the drug. The Obama Administration opposed the federal legalization of marijuana, but its enforcement approach, which focused on persons and entities whose conduct interferes with eight drug enforcement priorities,...
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TTB Publishes a Federal Register Notice Adjusting the Civil Monetary Penalty under ABLA
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 17, 2017
Posted In Advertising and Marketing, TTB COLAs and Formulas
On January 10, 2017, TTB published a Federal Register notice adjusting the civil monetary penalty imposed for violations of the Alcohol Beverage Labeling Act of 1988 (the ABLA). The ABLA requires the labels of alcohol beverages sold in the United States to bear the now-familiar Government Warning Statement. When first enacted, the maximum civil penalty...
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