Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Saratoga's Savannah-Chanel winery has become Savannah Chanelle. Daughter Chanel says she likes the new spelling.
Vineyard changes name to avoid suit
Chanel feared 'trademark dilution'
By Kara Chalmers
When Michael and Kellie Ballard named their Saratoga vineyard after their two daughters, Savannah, 4, and Chanel, 9, they never thought that they would be threatening the mighty Chanel Inc., maker of cosmetics and designer of high fashion.
But because of a lawsuit that Chanel filed against the Ballards in December 1998, the new name of the Congress Springs Road vineyard which the Ballards bought in 1996 is now Savannah-Chanelle. And while the new name has not yet appeared on all the vineyard's wine bottles, it is slowly turning up around town, in the vineyard's newsletter and on some of its merchandise.
Chanel filed suit in Superior Court in the central district of California under a relatively new provision of the law called "trademark dilution," because the Ballards used the name "Chanel" in their business title. The provision holds that a famous trademark's effectiveness can be "diluted" by other businesses using it.
In March, rather than become more entangled in what promised to be a drawn-out and expensive legal battle, the Ballards voluntarily and legally changed their vineyard's name. They did not make the change because of a settlement agreement or a court order. They did it voluntarily, so that Chanel would have to sue Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards.
"After a year and a half and a couple hundred dollars in defense costs, it sort of got ridiculous," Michael Ballard said.
According to Ballard, he had offered to change the vineyard's spelling much earlier, but Chanel had refused an agreement then. A spokesman for Chanel said its position is not to comment on the matter since the litigation is pending.
Ballard said that trademark dilution is such a new provision that there have been very few court decisions on it. It is still unclear what types of additional protections a famous company is entitled to under the law. Ballard said he thinks it is unfortunate that famous companies will go to such lengths to protect their businesses.
"We just didn't know enough case law to predict how the court would rule," Ballard said, adding that changing the name was worth it since the lawsuit was getting costly and it was taking too much time away from running the vineyard.
Since the Ballards changed the name of the vineyard in March, Chanel has approached them about settling the lawsuit, according to Ballard. Although the two groups are still negotiating, Ballard said he feels confident that within the next few weeks, Chanel will set its suit aside and agree to the use of "elle" in the vineyard's name. He thinks Chanel realized it wouldn't prevail in a lawsuit against the vineyard with the new spelling. Since the name is changed, Chanel doesn't have much of a case, he said.
Cindy Shepard, vice president of operations for the vineyard, said that all 1998 vintages would still have the old labels but that the vineyard's next bottling, in September, will reflect the name change.
"The things we could address immediately, we started addressing in March," she said. The vineyard's Internet site, which is how Chanel found out about the vineyard in the first place, is already updated.
Shepard said that many people have asked her about the name change and most have a hard time understanding what all the fuss is about.
"I could maybe see it if it was Chanel-Savannah," she said. "No one ever thought we were Chanel Corporation."
According to Ballard (who optimistically seems to see the glass as half full), the name was never pronounced correctly anyway, and now hopefully people will have an easier time with it. The correct pronunciation is "SHA-NELL," with the accent on the second syllable.
Ironically, the Ballards all like the new spelling, even 9-year-old Chanel.
"She's at that age where kids start playing around with the spelling of their names anyway," Ballard said. "She said 'Well, Dad, I kind of like the way it's spelled."
Saratoga, California Since 1955
