Beyond the Basics: Tied-House Policy and Things of Value

By on April 9, 2015

The Fall 2014 issue of Artisan Spirit introduced readers to the unusual and rather complicated legal concepts arising from the “tied-house” laws.  It covered the general concepts of:

a) separating the retail tier from the upper tiers of the industry
b) federal and state regulation in this area
c) the federal scheme prohibiting “inducements” leading to “exclusion”
d) cross-tier ownership prohibitions
e) restrictions on upper-tier assistance to retailers

This new article, published in the Spring 2015 issue of Artisan Spirit, takes readers a little deeper into the subject of tied-house laws by pondering the policy behind them and examining some hot topics on what constitutes prohibited “thing of value” assistance to retailers.  But remember that tied-house laws exist on the federal and state level, and that each state has the authority to enact its own particular variations on the tied-house concept.  While a few states simply adopt federal law, most have enacted their own statutes and regulations, leading to substantial variations between the laws of different states.  As a result, no article could possibly capture all the complexities involved, and distillers should seek their own counsel before making a particular investment or running a particular marketing program.

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