Litigation
The "Glen Breton" name was put into question before it had ever sold a bottle. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), a firm representing 57 different Scotch whisky companies from Scotland, claimed that the whisky was misleading potential international buyers by using the term "Glen" in its name—a term used almost exclusively on Scotch whisky labels. The trademark name "Scotch" does not appear on the bottle anywhere, and the label states it is a product of Canada.
On January 24, 2007, CBC News reported that the Canadian Trade-marks Opposition Board rejected the arguments of the Scotch Whisky Association, clearing the way for the distillery to continue to use the Glen Breton Rare label. The SWA responded that the ruling was inconsistent with international case law, and that it would file an appeal.
On April 3, 2008, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in favour of the SWA's demand that the word Glen be dropped from the product's name. On December 18, 2008 Glenora Distillers appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa and on January 22, 2009 the court overturned the lower court’s ruling.
An application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, filed by SWA on March 23, 2009, was dismissed with costs on June 11, 2009.
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