#Midhope Castle

[p-redux]

One of the Team sent me this in DM--Sarah Holden seems to be at Midhope Castle, where they film Outlander! 😊 Turn up the volume on her IG story, and you can hear the SAME bagpipes that were playing at Midhope Castle. Go to both accounts and compare the bagpipes.

You can hear the bagpipes in Sarah's IG story playing faintly in the background. 👇

And the bagpiper here, playing the same thing at Midhope Castle hahaha 👇 Gee, what a coinky dink. 🤗

Here's the video of it. 👇

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Midhope.Castle (@midhope.castle)

Now let's see if Mr. Sam Heughan posts something from there...

PS. I added this comment afterwards since I already got a comment asking how do we know it's the same bagpipes. There aren't just random bagpipers walking around Scotland playing for no reason. Bagpipes are for special occasions. It would be a HUGE coincidence that on the same day that bagpipes are played at Midhope Castle, which is associated with Sam Heughan due to Outlander, you can also hear bagpipes playing outside rumored girlfriend, Sarah Holden's car. What special event could be happening right outside Sarah's car that would warrant bagpipes playing on a Monday? C'mon now. JS

[brian-in-finance]

Video 📹 from Instagram Thanks for the tip, @highheelsandvodka 😃

Remember when Roger Mac was nowhere in sight? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[virtualscotland]

I visited Midhope Castle in Scotland yesterday and it was such a beautiful day! Midhope is also famously known as Lallybroch from the show Outlander - do you recognise it?! 😀 I have a little video of it here. 🌞 Scottish Castles are beautiful!

Please watch and reblog! 😍

@outlanderanatomy @outlander-online @outlander-starz @outlandernetwork @outlandersource @outlanderlush @outlanderfandomfollies @outlanderfraser @outlandernat @outlandersfans-blog @outlandersource @outlandernetwork @samheughanontherocks @samheughanonline-blog @samheughandaily-blog @samheughanswife @samheughan @caitrionabalfe @caitrionabafle @jamiefraserxclairebeauchamp @jamiefraserz @jamieclaire

[celticculture]

[ladywynneoutlander]

Filming set to begin at Midhope Castle.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw7bqpZMQSr/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[billyclicks]

Midhope Castle, some of you outlander fans might recognise the famous Lallybroch...

So when are you visiting ?

[tinagodiva]

Midhope Castle, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[sgiandubh]

The door faces North

This has been, by far, one of the most complex investigations I have ever done in this fandom, and I am truly sorry for the long wait I had to inflict on many of you & for the uncharacteristic radio silence in DMs and comments. During this peculiar journey, I checked, double-checked and cross-checked as many details as I could and I carefully considered at least two different theories, of which I still think they do not exclude each other. I am now confident enough to make not only an educated guess, but also a daring bet on SRH's next whisky move.

Also, sorry for the length of this post. Truly sorry - think of the completely pulverized night sleep I had to give up, in order to bring this to you.

But first, a word on Marple's obvious PR tip on the Hopetoun Estate refurbishment and distillery old/new project. I am fair game enough to tell you the obvious: her overall recounting of the principals is roughly correct, spare perhaps one or two minor details. Correct, but dry - she limits herself to the technical documentation submitted by Golden Decanters and The Hopetoun Estates Trust to the West Lothian Council for approval. She correctly points out that S is not a visible part of the deal, at this point in time and she does a decent summing up of a very, very, VERY plethoric amount of bureaucratic information. She concludes, and I think she is partially right, that he might be interested in becoming an investor (I am taking things a bit further, though). But in doing so, she focuses on the development phase of the project only: the possible connections with SRH and his own spirits business are less, if at all, obvious.

I am going to give you my view of all this charade and, if I am going to mention (and probably repeat) some things already found by her, I am going to focus on the people: this is where the whole story starts to become remarkably interesting, at least to me. After all, I remember promising you some more clarity. Here's an honest, fair play take.

Little did I know, when I started to write about that (now defunct) company, Midhope Castle Distillery, Ltd (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/748597198794670080/the-info-provided-above-is-correct-but-outdated?source=share), that my investigation would turn to this:

... for it was to be just an almost random layer of a juggernaut matryoshka of defunct or still active companies, featuring roughly the same people and no less than 6 different name combinations centered around Midhope, Hopetoun, etc.

The following pics will give you an idea - feel free to open them in a separate tab, for clarity . I preferred this synthetic approach, because otherwise you will curse the shite out of me. But it had to be done, with or without Depon, Advil's Greek cousin (and before you ask a graphologist, this is my handwriting, and nobody else's 🙃):

The only explanation for the whole almost frantic Midhope/Hopetoun crisscross/hopscotch (LOL) combos I can think of is two people trying to secure one (several?) credit lines or to attract significant investors for their project and ultimately failing to do so. But I might be wrong (although I doubt that, thank you). Out of this entire maze ( I swear I now have a migraine), there are only two active companies remaining: Golden Decanters Ltd (renamed GD Spirits Ltd, in April 2022) and Midhope Ltd (renamed Skosk Ltd, in July 2023). It is on them I am going to focus my gaze.

GD Spirits Ltd was incorporated in Berwick-upon-Tweed, England (just across the Scottish border), probably for tax reasons, on March 11, 2015, the nature of its business being listed as 'wholesale of wine, beer, spirits, etc.'. It started with a team of two women: Julia Mackenzie-Gillanders and Ann Medlock, whose names we are going to see over and over again in all the eight corporate avatars. Later down the timeline (LOL for three decades and a half), on January 30, 2018, they were briefly (until July 19, 2018) joined by two very interesting professionals: Mrs. Margaret Boswell, an attorney at the very prestigious international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel (Paris and London offices)...

...and Ken Robertson, former Corporate Affairs Director at Diageo Whisky, a subsidiary of the international Diageo group, one of the major players on the world spirits' market:

The second company, Skosk Ltd, was incorporated in August 2021, in Perth, Scotland, its nature of business being listed as 'distilling, rectifying and blending of spirits', with the clear intention to align with the exacting criteria prescribed by the 2009 Scotch Whisky Regulations:

[ Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_whisky - sorry, I don't have time to wax lyrical on this, and neither do you]

This time, we only meet again the two distillerettes, Gillanders and Medwick. Up until now, at least, nobody else (attorney, former sales executive, whisky expert) has joined the platoon - TBC? I would not speculate and leave all options open.

There is little to 0 transparency on Skosk's financial situation, at the moment and to be honest, it looks very much like S's co-star (hehe)'s Irish business venture...

... but I was a bit more lucky, and the numbers more chatty, as far as GD Spirits was concerned:

Paging all shipper chartered accountants out there, but to me, it doesn't look great, at the moment. Cash is ridiculous, the net worth is hemorrhaging and the current assets are negligible, compared to 2020, when I think they managed to secure one or two credit lines, but not nearly enough for what they needed. Just enough to pay themselves and their external consultants and cover the operating costs, if you ask me.

The revised Planning Statement, of 8 February 2024, posted first by Marple, echoes my initial guess (COVID blew it up, see link to the first post) and the above assessment:

Mark this: 'Discussions are now proceeding with investors and there is a realistic prospect that work will begin in the near future (2024/2025) to implement the permission.' Given that they will start with the road and parking rehabilitation and upgrading, probably overlapping with the distillery building, it would make sense to begin this autumn at the earliest, with the most urgent: access to the site itself.

The initial Planning Statement, dated 9 July 2020 and re-posted on March 21st, 2024, tells a more detailed story. This is part and parcel of the current project as well, since the revision is just pointing out the changes operated, not the entire rest, which remains unchanged. You be the judge:

Also keep in mind this tiny, tiny thing: the Business Plan is 'submitted (...) under Private and Confidential Cover'. See where I am looking?

The initial plan was (and still is) for GD Spirits to produce their own booze, using Midhope's own barley (this is very important for the rest of my theory!). They even offer an overview of the real impact of their project on the local economy:

20 to 38 initial new job creations for a £ 15 to 30 million investment is not 'huge', madam Marple. Cumbernauld is huge. This? This is rather modest, if you ask me. But hey, what do I know about the labor market, right?

That initial Statement tells also the story they want to tell about the genesis of their idea, the scouting for the right location and a couple of other interesting details:

So they are telling us they started to look for the perfect location in 2018 and oh, hello, they found the Hopetoun Estate rather quickly, already starting the pre-planning application consultations as early as July 2019 (don't get me started, please):

If so, then why did they incorporate not one, but two different companies clearly linking them to the Estate (Hopetoun Estate Distillery Ltd and Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd) the same day and as early as May 23rd 2017 (and both dissolved in December 2022), as my above penciled timeline (LOOOOOL) shows? Who is really behind this project and why this entire ballet? It's like me pre-emptively looking for rental properties in (let's randomly guess) Lisbon, when it's just wishful thinking, heavily projecting and with 0 guarantees I will be posted there, right? I mean, I adore and deeply know Lisbon and I would be thrilled to go there. But I am not currently looking for any rental property, just like that, because that would be a #silly, rookie mistake. In their case, I think there's a different situation - again, you be the judge.

A first answer, as to who is really behind that project, was given by the UK media, back in 2020:

How odd, when we know that both Mrs. Boswell, the well-traveled attorney and Mr. Robertson resigned from GD Spirits in July 2018. Do they still say hi to the two distillerettes? Do they quietly keep an eye on the project? Are they silent partners? Business angels? Shareholders? Time to remind you that under UK law, there is 0 visibility on the shareholder's structure of a company. You just see the officers (Director, Secretary, etc), on the Company House website. On an umpteenth, last- second cross-check, it became apparent that Mr. Robertson remained involved in another company of the distillerettes, Hopetoun Estate Whiskies Ltd (yes, the one mentioned above), until its voluntary strike-off, in December 2022.

Their best laid plans do mention OL, and how could it be otherwise? But all this £ 15 to 30 million hullaballoo for 20.000 people only (who counted them and how?), on a seasonal basis?

High-end restaurant, luxury B&B, event spaces, you name it. Interesting, to say the least.

And, for the people in the back, who still think SRH has a 100 years lease at Midhope (Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, the stupidity!):

This is why he commented as a 'member of the public'. At face value, there is no public involvement into that project. Yet. But it is my belief there is a vested interest in all this, justifying the comment, the visit, those papers rolled in his fist, etc. At first, I thought that was a visit to Lallybroch by the Exec Producer of OL's Season 8, to discuss technicalities - and shared that privately with a wonderful friend only. I mean, why not and still perfectly possible. But then, as I could not sleep tonight and felt guilty to have you all waiting, I started to connect some tiny dots.

Like this one, for a start:

Yes, I know, Marple told you that FIRST, I would not dare say otherwise, because if I did there would be a transcontinental screech. That trademark application was filed at the US Patent and Trade Office in September 2023 and I thought (and still partially do) it was a potential rebranding solution to The Sassenach's EUIPO nightmare (much exaggerated by the fandom's toothbrush experts):

But you also know I am an idiot and I always check people's CVs, when I follow a thread. This morning, the one Distillerette I am particularly interested in is Mrs. Julia Hall-Mackenzie-Gillanders (née Scales) and not like *urv would be.

Her LinkedIn profile is exceptionally talkative, too:

... and a BA (with Honors) in Fashion Design, class of 2005, at the Northumbria University.

The Financial Times article 'From packing boxes to wine deals worth millions', you can read on her LinkedIn page, tells a very interesting story. It is the story of a shy underdog (lots of temple bells clinging, at the moment), who made it by sheer persistence. It starts like this:

'When a painfully shy young woman contacted a fine wine merchant and said ' I have no qualifications- can I help?', she got the job and today is signing deals worth millions of pounds.'

It obviously did ring a bell and if SRH knows she exists (she is married, *urv!), and I dare to speculate he does, it must have struck a deep chord. Would I do business with her? I wouldn't speculate, although I am not very sure. Would he? He'd probably listen very carefully to what she has to pitch, for a start.

And what she has to pitch is also very interesting, in his world. A brief look at the Golden Decanters' website shows a first high-end single malt sourced collection of 4 exceptional expressions already sold out:

And when they mean high-end, they mean gold leaf labelling and all the tralala:

And, some last minute news, too:

Remind me, because I am an old woman, after this white night: wasn't The Sassenach (no comment, we agree to disagree and I am very skeptical), a blend?

We have these dots, then:

Bold Underdog ->spirits business->high-end collection of single malts sold out->business partnership with owners of Midhope Castle, fictional Lallybroch in OL, including a distillery and whisky production with Midhope/Lallybroch barley -> visit by the male lead and spirits entrepreneur (also the fictional Lallybroch laird) to Midhope/Lallybroch and vested interest in the estate's most recent business project....

What if The Sassenach would be included, for a start, in that new Blended Collection? And could it really be fanfic to imagine a future high-end, limited edition, Lallybroch whisky produced at Midhope, with Midhope/Lallybroch barley? It wouldn't be the first time, would it: after all, they did it with that limited tequila batch.

As I said, because I am (remember Someone? LOL) a 'silly cow', I was hoping he wouldn't do it. But my guess is he might very well do exactly that, with those people and under that label.

It's half past eight AM, local time and I need a strong, black coffee.

I rest my case (and I am bracing myself for the screeching). I will answer Anons later, after I come back from the hairdresser's. Appointments must be kept at all costs. Thank you all for your patience.

[lazysunjade]

M A N O R |

I went digging through my old backups to find a house I'd built years ago for my sims 3 story family, the O'Donnaghailes. the house exterior was based off of Lallybroch (Midhope Castle). I've updated the outside a bit and started decorating the interior in the vein of a Scottish/Irish manor house to keep in line with the story vibes. sometimes I think about resurrecting that story, but I just don't think I could ever get along with sims 3 well enough to pull it off, and porting it to sims 4 would lose the heart and soul, which was Rinn Fada and Glen Donnach being the original inspiration. for those interested, the original story was posted here. does make me a bit nostalgic about when I used to do prose on simblr.

[luhafraser]

OMG I can’t believe it. It’s so ridiculous I can’t believe she put it out there. Just because a random guy was playing bagpipes at Midhope Castle and Sarah was sitting in her car with bagpipes playing outside, it was surmised that Sarah was there because of Sam? Meeting him! How do we know she was at the castle? There’s nowhere else in Scotland bagpipes were being played? I don’t think I have ever in my life heard such a stretch. There are no words. 🙄

In this scene P would be Phoebe... And Monica, Chandler and Rachel, the rest of the fandom...

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[p-redux]

Getting word that there's Outlander Season 7 Part 2 filming at Midhope Castle in Scotland this Monday, September 11! Wonder what and who will film?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw7bqpZMQSr/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[brian-in-finance]

Paris Fashion Week • 29 September 2023

Monte Carlo Television Festival • 13 June 2015

Instagram

Remember when the Midhope Castle geotag was a bit misleading?

[bcacstuff]

Timeline 12 March 2024 - June 2024

For completeness and to consult when there’s discussion about his whereabouts. In addition to the previous timelines.

Timeline 12 covers 2 March 2024 - 29 June 2024

For previous dates see timeline 11

On 2 March he's at the Hyrox races in Glasgow, some fan pics were posted. He was registered and results showed up on the website, but it's unclear if he competed himself or someone else in his slot as he never posted any pics

In the weeks after he stays in Scotland a fan pic was taken on March 6th in Doune

Same day he posted some stories from Loch Lubnaig, recording a promo for MoM and getting interviewed by Charlotte Reather at his home for The Field magazine.

On 17 March he posts a story showing the St. Patrick Parade in London. A day later Paul Telfer posts a pic saying he met Sam in London over the weekend. Another fan pic taken on 20 March shows he's still in London.

On 21 March Starz finally get the word out OL S7b will be released in November, fans are not happy. Most likely they recorded the same day a promo showing S8 production started Monday 25 March,

while we already saw he was back home on Friday 22 March by a story, and a post on 24 March, the last one recorded over the weekend

More fan service posted on 1 April by Starz and confirmation of a 4 day break over Easter, back to work on Tuesday 2 April

On 13 April he's at Landcon 6 in Paris where he tells they've been filming S8 for 3 weeks now. Lots of videos and pics are shared as well as a live blog (also see my archive)

The next day he's registered for Hyrox Cologne but doesn't turn up, instead he's spotted by 2 fans in Paris. He flies back the evening of 14 April to Edinburgh

On 21 April he's spotted in Edinburgh by 2 fans, he apparently is there to treat his OL team on a lunch at Tony Singh's Supperclub in Edinburgh. In the evening he's spotted again

The next day on Monday evening 22 April he visits Midhope Castle with AN, where he's gifted some socks, but everyone is more curious what he's holding in his hands as it looks like a map or documents!

On 25 April he's in Edinburgh getting interviewed, two youtube videos are posted on 24 May

The weekend of 27 & 28 April is the MPC Gala weekend, lots of videos and pics are posted from the workout session on Saturday evening and the Peaker Games at Murray Filed on Sunday and the closing Gala. (see my archive for more footage)

On 30 April, his birthday he gets his birthday cake at the read through of Block 2 S8.

On 4 May he posts a couple of selfies showing he's in London. The same day a fan spots him in Kensington having lunch with SHer. He went to see her race at the Hyrox event in the same area, he didn't compete himself despite being registered (again)

It's unclear if he has been on set the week after, there are some doubts. Though he seems to be (back) home on 14 May when he posts a story from a magazine which shows his kitchen counter on the background.

The next day 15 May, he's clearly back on set showing his trailer which seems to be decorated during his absence by a costume designer (he tags). It's food for jokes during the next days and week.

On 24 May he posted a video announcing from the decorated trailer he'll be at Top Shelf in SF on October 5&6.

On 29 May an article is published by JJ of him holding hands on Dean street in London with a 'mystery woman', which caused quite some stir, he even adjusts the settings on his IG for some days

On 30 May he drives Dries Vos around Glasgow on his motorbike as if nothing happened.

On 1 June (OL Day) a teaser for S7b is released and a final date is announced (22 November)

On 2 June he posts a video and pics from a Kayak trip he apparently had the day before with some of crew members

On 5 June he posted a video joking about Taylor Swift who's going to give some concerts during the next weekend in Edinburgh which most of the cast will attend per his saying

On 7 June he apparently attended a concert of James at the OvoHydro in Glasgow. Most likely with a crew member as that person posted about it as well

On 8 June the main cast of OL and Maril and publisher Louisa attended the Eras Tour Concert from Taylor Swift in Edinburgh. Many posted their videos and pictures (more in archive)

The weekend of 15 June he stayed at the Avochie Estate where he spent an afternoon fly-fishing on the River Deveron

On 21 June he posted a story showing the new Mudlarking book from his kitchen counter

On 23 June he did a self-guided mountainbike ride at Comrie Croft, some fans posted a picture at the Tea Garden at Comrie

On 29 June he attended (again) the Giorgio Armani Tennisclassics. He was spotted seating in the audience next to a woman who turned out to be Alice P. showing some PDA

Other timelines:

Pre Hawaii timeline

Timeline 1 August 2020 Timeline 2 September 2021 Timeline 3 February 2022 Timeline 4 August 2022 Timeline 5 October 2022 Timeline 6 January 2023 Timeline 7 April 2023 Timeline 8 June 2023 Timeline 9 August 2023 Timeline 10 October 2023 Timeline 11 December 2023

[thetruthwilloutsworld]

Instagram midhope.castle

Bts how Midhope Castle becomes Lallybroch.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Sam Heughan’s Sassenach whisky brand loses the final legal fight in a trademark dispute in the European Union 🇪🇺

Sam Heughan launched his whisky brand "The Sassenach" in 2020, nickname his character uses for his on-screen love interest in the time travel drama "Outlander". Since 2021, Heughan has been embroiled in a legal battle with "Sasse" a German distillery over the name of his whisky brand, arguing that the Sassenach whisky would confuse customers who might think he is linked to them.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which resolves trademark disputes, ruled in favour of the German company and issued a decision upholding the opposition saying The Sassenach could not use the name as a whisky brand. After losing the initial decision at the Fifth Board of Appeals in 2021, Heughan's legal team appealed in 2022 to overturn the decision.

His legal team said there was no risk of confusion as Outlander was popular in Germany. Lawyers for the Sasse distillery, however, said: "The television series may be as popular as the other side claims, which we deny, nonetheless it is not sufficient to assume that the average consumer knows the meaning of that term. Both parties in litigation were given time to present evidence and arguments in their defence and after the Examination period, the Opposition Division’s decision was taken this year 2023.

Great Glen Company or its representative never commented on the EU decisions until last October, in New York when Sam Heughan was asked about Sassenach whisky situation in the European Union in a chat with Mark Gillespie at the Whisky Cast podcast and Heughan's response was very limited, deflecting the question talking about the name in dispute but not the EUIPO's decision, regarding Sassenach whisky that was supposedly aware of the official communication from the European Union Intellectual Property Office - Opposition Division- sent to Great Glen Company in July 2023, which considered that the disputed trademark 'The Sassenach' must be rejected for all the contested goods.

It's a bit curious that after the EUIPO decision, Sam Heughan appeared on a surprise visit to New Orleans, which included podcasts, and events with @sgwinespirits on Tales of the cocktail with an unscheduled tasting of his drinks at the Ritz-Carlton in Nola. Later on, he began his Sassenach sales tour around the United States last summer. If these people had known what had happened with his Sassenach brand in the EU would be different?

In addition, Great Glen Company (GGC) applied to register a new trademark with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the EU, following the EUIPO decision, following its earlier idea to build on all the Outlander ideas, the new trademark is called "LALLYBROCH SPIRITS" (Lallybroch means "lazy tower" in Gaelic). It will not use Midhope/Lallybroch as a distillery. This new trademark has nothing to do with or relate to the grounds of Midhope Castle, the site of a new whisky distillery with a different brand and ownership. Its new application is already registered in the United States.

It's pending resolution in the EU, Canada and the United Kingdom where Heughan requested its registration.

WIPO

EUIPO

THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS

The Great Glen Company, Sam Heughan’s firm, applied to register the brand name Scotch whisky THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS as a future trademark to sell the whisky across Europe, but Theo Sasse e.K brand distillery in Schöppingen-Germany, objected claiming the name was too close to its trademarked name, which it uses to sell whiskies and brandies spirits.

On 20th July 2023 the Opposition Division takes the following:

DECISION

1. Opposition is upheld for all the contested goods.

2. International registration is entirely refused protection in respect of the European Union.

REASONS

On 24th November 2021 the opponent Theo Sasse e.K filed an opposition against all the goods (Class 33) of international registration designating the European Union. The opposition is based on, inter alia, German trademark registration ‘Sasse’ (word mark). Also, the opponent invoked Article 8(1)(b) EUTMR and Article 8(4) EUTMR.

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION — ARTICLE 8(1)(b) EUTMR

A likelihood of confusion exists if there is a risk that the public might believe that the goods or services in question, under the assumption that they bear the marks in question, come from the same undertaking or, as the case may be, from economically linked undertakings.

The opposition is based on more than one earlier trade mark. The Opposition Division finds it appropriate to first examine the opposition in relation to the opponent’s German trade mark registration.

a) The goods

The goods on which the opposition is based are, inter alia, the following:

Class 33: Alcoholic beverages, excluding beers. Alcoholic beverages, except beer are identically contained in both lists of goods (including synonyms).

b) Relevant public — degree of attention

The average consumer of the category of products concerned is deemed to be reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect. It should also be borne in mind that the average consumer’s degree of attention is likely to vary according to the category of goods or services in question. In the present case, the goods found to be identical are directed at the public at large.

c) The signs

The relevant territory is Germany.

Contested sign The global appreciation of the visual, aural or conceptual similarity of the marks in question must be based on the overall impression given by the marks, bearing in mind, in particular, their distinctive and dominant components. The earlier mark is the word mark ‘Sasse’. The protection of a word mark concerns the word as such and not the specific graphic or stylistic elements accompanying that mark.

The verbal element ‘SASSENACH’ of the contested mark has, contrary to the allegations of the holder, no meaning for the relevant public and is, therefore, distinctive. Likewise, the unicorn device of the contested sign has no particular meaning in relation to the goods and is distinctive.

THE SASSENACH’ in the contested sign are the dominant elements as they are the most eye-catching.

Visually, the signs coincide in ‘SASSE’, which represents the entire earlier mark. The signs differ in the representation of a unicorn and the additional letters ‘-NACH’ (after SASSE) and the non-distinctive elements ‘The’ as well as ‘UNIQUE SPIRITS’ in the contested mark. Thus, the single word element of the earlier mark is fully contained in the most distinctive verbal element of the contested mark. That fact alone is a clear indication of a visual similarity. Therefore, the signs are similar to a below-average degree.

Aurally, the signs coincide in the syllables ‘Sas-se’, which is the sole and distinctive element of the earlier mark and the beginning of the most important verbal element of the contested sign, ‘Sas-se-nach’. The signs differ in the last letters of this word (one syllable), ‘nach’, and in the first verbal element of the contested sign, ‘The’. The fact remains that the earlier mark is entirely included at the beginning of the most important verbal element of the contested sign.

Conceptually, the signs will always be dissimilar as the contested mark will be understood with at least one meaning, namely the unicorn in the contested mark. As the signs have been found similar in at least one aspect of the comparison, the examination of likelihood of confusion will proceed.

d) Distinctiveness of the earlier mark The distinctiveness of the earlier mark is one of the factors to be taken into account in the global assessment of likelihood of confusion. In the present case, the earlier trade mark as a whole has no meaning for any of the goods in question from the perspective of the public in the relevant territory. Therefore, the distinctiveness of the earlier mark must be seen as normal.

e) Global assessment, other arguments and conclusion The goods at issue are identical. They target the general public, who possesses an average degree of attention. The earlier mark has a normal degree of distinctiveness. The signs are visually similar to a below average degree and aurally similar to an average degree since the sole and distinctive element of the earlier mark, ‘Sasse’, is entirely reproduced at the beginning of the contested sign’s only fully distinctive verbal element, ‘Sassenach’. Evaluating the likelihood of confusion implies some interdependence between the relevant factors and, in particular, a similarity between the marks and between the goods or services.

Considering all the above, especially taking into account that the earlier mark is entirely reproduced in the contested sign and used for goods that are identical, the Opposition Division finds that there is a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public. Therefore, the opposition is well founded on the basis of the opponent’s German trade mark registration It follows that the contested trade mark must be rejected for all the contested goods. As the earlier right German trade mark registration leads to the success of the opposition and to the rejection of the contested trade mark The Sassenach for all the goods against which the opposition was directed.

The trademark status was "totally refused", meaning that THE SASSENACH UNIQUE SPIRITS trademark cannot be registered in the EU. If SH's trade mark application is refused, he can file an appeal. He must file his notice of appeal within 2 months from the date of the refusal decision (August-September) and the grounds of appeal must be filed within 4 months from the same date of notification (October-November). But, He did not appeal and last November the EUIPO confirmed by letter the provisional refusal of his trademark and refused its protection in the European Union. The final decision was published on 14 December 2023.

Conclusion

The EUIPO’s decision of the Board of Appeals, regarding its whisky has a “displacement” because Sassenach whisky cannot be registered as a trademark in the EU, the Sassenach trademark was refused. SH must be aware the significance of the total refusal decision regarding its whisky brand. If he was planning to recover from a legal dispute by putting his gin on an impromptu Sassenach tour around US last summer, proving that his recent EU legal battle was a mere bump in the road, he should have thought twice. He lost a legal battle to register his Sassenach whisky brand as a European Community trademark ® in 27 states. It is a big difference. It seems that if Heughan wants to continue selling its whisky, it will have to change the name.

LALLYBROCH SPIRITS registration:

United Kingdom

Canada

USA

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Midhope Castle, also known as Lallybroch, home of Jamie Fraser (Outlander).

The property was owned by the Martin family in 1478, and they had a castle here, but passed to the Livingstones soon afterwards. James Lindsay, Lord Lindsay, had a ratification of 1592 for the lands of Midhope, with the tower and fortalice thereof. Midhope belonged to the Drummonds of Midhope, who were in possession during part of the 16th and 17th centuries, and Alexander Drummond of Midhope remodelled the tower in 1587 and his initials with those of his wife Marjorie Bruce are on a former lintel now above a gateway. Alexander Drummond of Midhope is on record in the 1640s, then Sir Robert Drummond of Midhope in 1647 and 1661.

The property passed to the Livingstones in 1664, and the intials of George Livingstone, 3rd Earl of Linlithgow are on a lintel, then went to the Hopes in 1678 and they remodelled the building. In 1710 the place was described as ‘a fine towerhouse with excellent gardens, one of the seats of the Earls of Hopetoun’. Midhope Castle was used to house farm workers after the building of nearby Hopetoun House, and in 1851 53 people lived here, but it was later abandoned and is now semi-derelict, although the outside was consolidated in 1988. The castle lies on the extensive Hopetoun estate.

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