Gerber Wins Court Order Requiring Schrager To Drop ‘Whiskey’ Name

NEW YORK— On May 24, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled in favor of Rande Gerbers Midnight Oil Company LLC, by entering an order requiring Ian Schragers Paramount Hotel to change the name of its bar so as not to use Gerber’s trademarked ‘WHISKEY’ name. Schrager has 30 days to comply with the ruling. At the hearing on Midnight Oil’s application for injunctive relief against Schragers Century Paramount, United States District Judge Sidney Stein acknowledged that Gerber had “won” his motion through Century Paramounts concessions. Midnight Oil Company LLC, the owner and operator of the ‘THE WHISKEY’ bar in the W Times Square Hotel, had charged Schragers Century Paramount LLC with trademark infringement and demanded that Schrager change the name. As previously reported in HOTEL BUSINESS®, Midnight Oil relocated THE WHISKEY bar in December 2001 from the Paramount to the W Times Square. According to a statement from Midnight Oil, Schrager immediately opened a bar in the vacated Paramount space still using Gerber’s registered trademark, “THE WHISKEY” as its name. Schrager also used Midnight Oils registered logo for THE WHISKEY. Midnight Oil asserted in it court action that Schrager was unlawfully exploiting the goodwill associated with THE WHISKEY name. As previously reported, Gerber and Schrager previously had a longstanding business relationship, which included the opening of several NYC bars. However, the two developers recently had a falling out and Gerber has since sold back all of his bars to Schrager. THE WHISKEY at the Paramount Hotel was the first bar Gerber had developed with his former business partner.