tied-house law
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Join McDermott Partners Marc Sorini and Andrew B. Kratenstein at the 21st Annual CLE International Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference

The annual Wine, Beer & Spirits Law Conference will be held on September 22-23, 2016 in Colorado Springs, CO to discuss the latest developments in alcohol policy and practice.  Co-Chair and McDermott partner Marc Sorini has again lined up a great program of speakers on legal topics of interest to the industry.  In addition, Marc and McDermott Partner Andrew B. Kratenstein will give the following presentations:

  • Thursday, September 22, 9:30-10:15 am: Marc will help kick off the conference by discussing the intersection of the First Amendment and tied-house law.
  • Thursday, September 22, 3:15-4:30 pm: Andrew will join three other lawyers to explore the strategies and tactics of supplier-distributor disputes, touching on venue, injunctions and other topics.

For more information or to register, please visit https://www.cle.com/Broadmoor.




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

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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Tied-House Basics for Distillers

Tied-house laws and related trade practice restrictions rank among the most baffling legal issues faced by a newcomer to the spirits industry.  While issues like distribution contracts, labeling requirements, trademarks and taxes all have parallels in other businesses, tied-house laws have few analogs outside the drinks industry.

This article, originally published in the Fall 2014 issue of Artisan Spirit, aims to provide a very general overview of these laws so a newcomer can at least spot potential issues.




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