Kerrygold Butter Maker Slaps Rival In Wisconsin with Trademark Lawsuit

There's a butter war breaking out in America's dairy aisle. A lawsuit has surfaced after talks allegedly soured between Dublin-based co-operative Ornua, the owner of the popular Kerrygold brand, and Wisconsin-based Old World Creamery to develop an Irish-made butter that could be sold in Wisconsin.The case stems from a protectionist law in the state of Wisconsin that essentially bans all butters produced from outside of the United States. The decades-old law has required federal or state graders to sign off on butter brands sold within the state. Kerrygold, however, is graded in the brand's home country of Ireland. Retailers can be fined if they opt to sell Kerrygold in defiance of the law.But Old World Creamery last week announced plans to start selling and marketing a similar-sounding Irishgold butter from Ireland this month within the state. As the Associated Press reported recently, Old World Creamery is tiptoeing around the law by importing Irishgold butter from Ireland, processing and packaging it stateside, and then having state-licensed butter graders rate it in Wisconsin. That would allow Irishgold to be sold legally in the state.