STG closes Mac Baren and Sutliff

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
4,231
12,549
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Neither Dunhill nor "dunhill" sell cigarettes. As a brand they do exist but, neither company makes nor vends them.
Sure they do. The name is a trademark, which can be bought and sold and licensed, and is intellectual property with an owner or owners. The mark is used both by a luxury goods business (which makes the pipes) and the tobacco business, BAT, to this day. We say Dunhill sells cigarettes in the same way we say Coca Cola sells soda. Both names are just trademarks, but we nonetheless ascribe agency to the names for convenience when we speak.

If folks don't think the pipe business has an interest in the "Dunhill" mark, try stamping and selling generic pipes "Dunhill." I wager you will get a stern letter from a Manhattan lawyer pretty quickly.

As for the "The White Spot," it is a venerable mark owned by Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc. and was first registered by that company in the US in 1923 and first used in 1916. You can find all that information on the USPTO's website. By the way, the name of that Manhattan lawyer is also on the web page for that mark.
 
Last edited:

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,662
20,219
SE PA USA
What has not been made clear here is that the same name, phrase or logo can be trademarked by entirely unrelated and unconnected companies for different product types (pipes, tobacco, ladies undergarments). This usually occurs when a company divests itself of part of it's operations, but the real value is in the brand name, such as what happened with Dunhill. The trademark is transferred to the new owner, who can continue to use it, but just for the uses listed on the trademark filing. Same with Peterson's: One company makes the pipes, another makes the tobacco. Same name, same logo, different companies.

If you want to have some edifying amusement, here is the link to the US Trademark and Patent Office search page.
 
Last edited:

Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,727
27,385
39
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
It might be wise to pause this thread until more is known - otherwise it’s just a lot of noise. Or not.
Nah. It's way more entertaining (and cathartic) to simply allow it to descend into a dizzying cacophony of speculation, name calling, psychotic venting, and juvenile insults. At least that's what the Vegas odds are dictating, anyway.

Sadly, I have nothing to add in that sense. I'm just making plans for my next SP order, timed to take advantage of whatever holiday deals suit me.
 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
12,662
20,219
SE PA USA
Nah. It's way more entertaining (and cathartic) to simply allow it to descend into a dizzying cacophony of speculation, name calling, psychotic venting, and juvenile insults. At least that's what the Vegas odds are dictating, anyway.

Sadly, I have nothing to add in that sense. I'm just making plans for my next SP order, timed to take advantage of whatever holiday deals suit me.
C'mon, dude. Let your freak flag fly.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,695
48,899
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Dunhill still has "it's name" on cigarettes. Seems like I remember someone digging up that the cigarettes were a totally separate company, out of the control of the fashion corporation. There are many threads on this subject if one would wish to dig through that stuff.

There are Mac's Mc's and O's all over the world. My grandmother was a McAllister whose family was from Germany. But, sure... thanks.
Some years back I posted a history of the somewhat incestuous relationships between Dunhill, BAT, and Rothman’s, who owns what, who has the rights to do what, etc.
It reads like a parody of a hillbilly family tree where you are your own grandpa.
Basically, Dunhill owns the Dunhill name and licenses it for use by the other entities. BAT has the right to manufacture “Dunhill” tobacco products, but doesn’t own the name, Dunhill, but Dunhill owns part of BAT, and Rothman’s is involved in it somehow. And there might be a couple of other companies in the mix.
Dunhill cigarettes are licensed from BAT, and the name is licensed from Dunhill. Lord knows who makes the stuff. Dunhill hasn’t made pipe tobacco since 1980.
 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
20,695
48,899
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
View attachment 348507
And as long as the pipe has the Dunhill name on it, people will continue to refer to them as such. Although I can’t imagine buying a new one now for myself.
Long ago and far away, Dunhill outsourced part of its production to other makers, most likely St. Claude, and it established a factory in Paris, France. More recently they were supposedly outsourcing some production to Italy.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.”
 

Terry Lennox

Can't Leave
Aug 11, 2021
491
2,610
Southern California
Long ago and far away, Dunhill outsourced part of its production to other makers, most likely St. Claude, and it established a factory in Paris, France. More recently they were supposedly outsourcing some production to Italy.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Never seen anything to substantiate this. Not saying there weren't periods. But would be news to the folks who show up to work every day at the St Andrews Road factory. Possible they have at times finished stummels from other sources.
 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
44,863
116,824
Long ago and far away, Dunhill outsourced part of its production to other makers, most likely St. Claude, and it established a factory in Paris, France. More recently they were supposedly outsourcing some production to Italy.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet.”
Bruce Weaver was a Dunhill collector. He told me there was a time when Canadian produced Dunhills were a thing as well.
 

mingc

Lifer
Jun 20, 2019
4,231
12,549
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
Some years back I posted a history of the somewhat incestuous relationships between Dunhill, BAT, and Rothman’s, who owns what, who has the rights to do what, etc.
It reads like a parody of a hillbilly family tree where you are your own grandpa.
Basically, Dunhill owns the Dunhill name and licenses it for use by the other entities. BAT has the right to manufacture “Dunhill” tobacco products, but doesn’t own the name, Dunhill, but Dunhill owns part of BAT, and Rothman’s is involved in it somehow. And there might be a couple of other companies in the mix.
Dunhill cigarettes are licensed from BAT, and the name is licensed from Dunhill. Lord knows who makes the stuff. Dunhill hasn’t made pipe tobacco since 1980.
From the UK government's Company House website, there is a Dunhill Tobacco of London Limited. DUNHILL TOBACCO OF LONDON LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK - https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02863410. The company's Annual Report from 2023 states that it "owns the Dunhill tobacco trademark, which it licenses to members of the British American Tobacco plc ("BAT") group" worldwide. It also states that the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAT. So, today. BAT owns the mark for tobacco and no one else. Per Dunhill Tobacco of London Limited's Report, it's trademarks and licenses are valued at £100 million. Profit in 2023, was £24 million, up from £17 million in 2022. Note that this is for licensing alone, not the manufacture and sale of tobacco. This is a spit in the bucket for BAT, whose net income is in the billions. Nonetheless, and quite simply, the company isn't "distancing" the "Dunhill" mark from tobacco.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.