One of Kentucky’s largest bourbon brands, Heaven Hill, is suing musician Bob Dylan for copyright infringement. The issue lies in the name of Dylan’s new whiskey company: Heaven’s Door.
Dylan launched the brand in April. It takes its name from his 1973 hit, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
Heaven Hill argues that the name of Dylan’s brand is too similar to its name, and that Dylan’s logo has stacked, block-script letters like its own, according to a Louisville Business Journal report.
Heaven Hill reportedly sent Dylan’s distillery a cease-and-desist letter when it learned of its naming in August 2017. It sent another letter in April 2018. Heaven’s Door responded that it did not think customers would confuse the brands and that it would not be changing its name.
The suit is “completely without merit,” Heaven’s Door said in a statement, adding that it “intends to vigorously defend itself and its Heaven’s Door brand.”