John Wayne’s Heirs Sue Duke Over Booze
John Wayne’s heirs are taking Duke University to court to assert the family’s right to market bottles of bourbon branded with the late movie star’s nickname, Duke. A federal lawsuit filed last week is the latest salvo in a long-running legal duel between the North Carolina university and California-based John Wayne Enterprises over commercial products featuring the name. The late actor used the moniker since childhood, when he adopted the name of the family dog. Lawyers for the university say allowing the Wayne estate to use the name could cause confusion and “diminish, dilute and tarnish” the value of the name, for which both parties hold trademarks. The bourbon is labeled with an image of Wayne holding a rifle with “Duke” emblazoned over it in bold letters. The phrase “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do” is included on the back side of the bottle.
