Ravinia Festival Files Fresh Complaint Against Ravinia Brewing Company

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Following a breakdown in settlement talks, the Ravinia Festival Association filed an amended complaint Wednesday against the Ravinia Brewing Company alleging trademark infringement over the use of the "Ravinia" name.

The updated complaint in the federal lawsuit between the music festival and the microbrewery accuses the founders of the brewing company of starting their business with "the express purposes of taking advantage of the name recognition and good will of Ravinia [Festival Association]."

In addition to the Illinois-registered LLCs of Ravinia Brewing Company and Ravinia Brewing Company Chicago, the 11-count amended complaint adds as a defendant Ravinia Brewing IP LLC, a Delaware-based entity incorporated in 2016.

According to a joint status report filed earlier this month, attorneys for the music festival only recently learned that the brewing company had assigned trademark rights to the Delaware affiliate.

The feud between the brewers and the nonprofit dates back to early 2018, when a demand from festival representative for a per-beer royalty and ownership of the brewery's name and brand delayed the opening of its Highland Park brewpub at 582 Roger Williams Ave.

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"In case there is any confusion, Ravinia Brewing is named after a neighborhood which also contains other 'Ravinia' businesses that are proud of their Ravinia community," according to a "disclaimer and origin" on the brewery's website. "Just so there is no confusion — Ravinia Brewing Company, LLC is a separately owned entity and is not related in any way to the Ravinia Festival Association."

With streets named after Baptist missionaries and many steep ravines, the village of Ravinia was developed in 1872 and annexed into the city of Highland Park in 1899. Ravinia Park, site of the nation's oldest outdoor music festival, was originally founded in 1904 as an amusement park by the then-operator of the nearby railroad.

After the property went into receivership in 1910, it was purchased by a group of North Shore residents who focused on hosting classical music outdoors in the summertime. It became the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's summer residence in 1936. The Ravinia Festival Association was incorporated as a nonprofit the same year and has owned the 36-acre park since 1944.

Eric Brandonfonbrener, a partner at Perkins Coie, is representing the association in its dispute with the brewing company. The managing partner of the law firm's Chicago office is also a trustee at the association, and the firm has "received recognition, discounts and other benefits as a Ravinia program sponsor for several years," according to a separate suit from an ousted member of the association's women's board.

Brandonfonbrener said in the complaint that he believed that Ravinia Brewing Company was planning additional business operations in Carbondale and that the brewery planned further expansion. He argued that the brewery's logo is "effectively identical" to the music festival's and promoted goods and services that are "highly similar or identical" to the music festival's.

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"On information and belief, [Ravinia Brewing Company's] branding and presentation of their products and promotion of musical performances under the RAVINIA Mark have caused actual confusion in the marketplace," Brandonfonbrener alleged. "Unless enjoined, Defendants’ misleading actions will continue to create consumer confusion and adversely affect Ravinia’s strong reputation, dilute the famous RAVINIA Mark, and destroy the goodwill that Ravinia has spent years cultivating in the RAVINIA Mark."

The festival first filed suit against the brewing company in October 2023. In February, the brewery answered the complaint and filed a pair of counterclaims — alleging fraud in obtaining a trademark and breach of contract.

The brewery contended that the association's 2011 trademark for exclusive rights to use the "Ravinia" name for "Restaurant Services; Catering Services; Offering Banquet Facilities" was obtained fraudulently, noting that the festival's finance director signed a sworn declaration that no one else was using the name for restaurants and food — despite the existence of local restaurants like the Ravinia Green Country Club and the Ravinia BBQ and Grill.

The brewing company's attorneys also noted that the 5 percent of ticket sales the festival contributes "to the Highland Park community" is actually a pass-through of the municipal admission fee charged by the festival association under a 2009 agreement where the city pledges not to impose an amusement tax like those charged by Chicago or Evanston.

The festival association's attorney sought to dismiss the counterclaims, contending that the existence of other businesses containing the name "Ravinia" does not suggest that the festival made false statements to the Patent and Trademark Office, or PTO, considering Ravinia Festival used the name to sell food and beverages prior to the golf course or BBQ.

"It appears that [Ravinia Brewing Company's] fraud claim hinges on the baseless implication that Ravinia could not have submitted truthful declarations in its application that its use of RAVINIA was substantially exclusive or that it believed no other person had the right to use the mark in commerce due to the mere existence of the Ravinia Green Country Club and the Ravinia BBQ and Grill," Brandonfonbrener said. "But there is no basis in trademark law for this position."

The brewery's attorney, Shelley Smith, said a jury could reasonably determine that a senior Ravinia Festival executive, like its then finance director, could not credibly claim that she was unaware of country club or BBQ joint.

"Thus, when Ravinia Festival filed its trademark application, Ravinia BBQ and Grill had been using the mark 'Ravinia' for twenty-five years and Ravinia Green Country Club had been using the mark for forty-three years, all without interference by Ravinia Festival," Smith said. "It is under these circumstances that Ravinia Festival told the PTO that no one else had the 'right to use the mark in commerce' in connection with restaurant services."

Last month, the parties held a confidential mediation but did not reach an agreement.

Patch requested comment from representatives of the brewing company. Any response received will be added here.

Earlier:

• Ravinia Festival Sues Ravinia Brewing Over Use Of Neighborhood Name
• In Neighborhood Name Dispute, Ravinia Festival Faces Counterclaims From Ravinia Brewing
• Ravinia Festival, Ravinia Brewing Company Trade Public Statements Ahead Of Agreement