{"id":223,"date":"2026-05-29T21:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=223"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:53:10","slug":"phillys-oldest-wine-school-didnt-prove-a-competitor-violated-its-trademark-judge-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=223","title":{"rendered":"Philly\u2019s oldest wine school didn\u2019t prove a competitor violated its trademark, judge rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Philadelphia\u2019s oldest wine school couldn\u2019t prove that a competitor violated its trademark during what it called a deliberate cyberbullying campaign, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. The allegations,the ruling determined, amounted to little more than sour grapes. <\/p>\n

Read more Officials call for Camden recycling facility\u2019s closure after a 13th fire in 6 years<\/a><\/p>\n

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District Judge Joshua Wolsondenied PhillyWine LLC\u2019s request to prohibit Keith Wallace and Alana Zerbe, the husband-and-wife duo behind the Wine School of Philadelphia, from using the name Philly Wine School.<\/p>\n

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Wallace obtained a trademark for the name \u201cPhilly Wine School\u201d in December, which court records show Wallace used to get PhillyWine\u2019s Instagram account suspended and attempt to take down its website. PhillyWine filed a lawsuit in federal court in Philadelphia in February alleging Wallace and Zerbe \u201cmade it their mission to destroy\u201d PhillyWine \u201cby attempting to erase its existence\u201d from the internet. <\/p>\n

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The dispute over the name \u201cPhilly Wine School\u201d had wreaked havoc on PhillyWine\u2019s ability to communicate with its students, the lawsuit argued, and led to confusion that resulted in at least one negative review meant for its competitor. Attendance and enrollment at PhillyWine \u2014 which now has a permanent residency at Rittenhouse Square\u2019s Fitler Club \u2014 has been down since December, the school\u2019s co-owner Matt Kirkland previously told the Inquirer.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think there needs to be clarity in naming and clarity for students so they sign up for the classes they think they\u2019re signing up for,\u201d Kirkland said in February. He declined to comment on the ruling.<\/p>\n

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PhillyWine\u2019s suit was accompanied by that asked the judge to order Wallace and Zerbe to stop using the \u201cPhilly Wine School\u201d name and withdraw trademark complaints submitted to Instagram and other platforms, such as their website host Squarespace.<\/p>\n

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Wolson recognized the harm to PhillyWine from losing its Instagram account, but ultimately concluded the school did not prove it has a longstanding association with the name \u201cPhilly Wine School\u201d or that the Wine School\u2019s actions would cause widespread confusion.<\/p>\n

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The phrase in question, Wolson noted, is merely descriptive, a geography strung together with an explanation of the services offered. <\/p>\n

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\u201c\u2018Philly\u2019 denotes Philadelphia. \u2018Wine\u2019 identifies the subject matter. \u2018School\u2019 describes the nature of the service that PhillyWine offers,\u201d Wolson wrote in Wednesday\u2019s opinion. \u201cPut together, the phrase conveys an immediate idea of a wine school located in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wallace, who had previously calledPhillyWine\u2019s lawsuit tantamount to bullying, said Wolson\u2019s decision was \u201ca huge win.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe judge really reiterated everything that I thought was going on,\u201d said Wallace. \u201cI\u2019m very thankful for that.\u201d <\/p>\n

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It all started on Instagram<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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The two wine schools had coexisted generally peacefully until recently, according to the February lawsuit. <\/p>\n

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Initially named after its founder Neil Ewing, PhillyWine was founded in 1999 as \u201cNeil Ewing Wine Services.\u201d It hosted roving classes in accordance with curriculum from the the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, a nonprofit that sets international standards for alcoholic beverage education.<\/p>\n

Read more Here\u2019s everything to know about the potential Peco worker strike<\/a><\/p>\n

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When Ewing retired in 2022, he sold the business to Kirkland, a retired surgeon, and Kirkland\u2019s wife Noelle Allen, a former banking executive. To date, PhillyWine is the only school in the tri-state area \u2014 and one of 47 globally \u2014 accredited to teach the the trust\u2019s full diploma, which Kirkland and Allen have leveraged to form partnerships with Drexel and James Madison universities.<\/p>\n

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Wallace, however, started offering wine tastings and semester-long sommelier courses in 2001 under the name the Wine School of Philadelphia, which opened a brick-and-mortar at 109 S. 22nd St in 2015. Wallace\u2019s classes follow a different curriculum that he said he designed for a \u201clarger clientele\u201d of wine enthusiasts and aspiring sommeliers alike.<\/p>\n

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Despite serving similar customers, PhillyWine identified \u201cno evidence of conflict [or] confusion,\u201d said Wolson, \u201cwhich undercuts the claim that [Wallace] adopted the phrase to trade on an established mark belonging to PhillyWine.\u201d <\/p>\n

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The main name PhillyWine used for decades was \u201cNeal Ewing Wine Services,\u201d Wolson noted, and that is how it was identified in industry publications as recently as 2023. The only place where PhillyWine appeared consistently was its web address, said Wolson.<\/p>\n

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The judge also rejected PhillyWine\u2019s claim that Wallace\u2019s attempts to take down the school\u2019s Instagram, website, and Google Business accounts were in bad faith, since Wallace offered to restore the school\u2019s Instagram account \u2014 so long as Kirkland and Allen agreed to stop referring to themselves as the \u201cPhilly Wine School\u201d on social media. The pair rejected him. <\/p>\n

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That offer is still on the table, Wallace said Friday. \u201cThat has always been the easiest solution from the very beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can have their Instagram followers … they just can\u2019t use our name.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What about Wallace\u2019s credentials?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Wolson declined to address at this point PhillyWine\u2019s allegations that Wallace obtained the trademark fraudulently, or had misrepresented his credentials. <\/p>\n

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Wallace\u2019s biography on the Wine School of Philadelphia website previously stated he graduated from University of California Davis\u2018 esteemed viticulture and enology program and had worked a professional winemaker in the Napa Valley upon graduation. <\/p>\n

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Neither are true, according to the suit, and The Inquirer could not independently verify that Wallace had attended UC Davis after contacting the school\u2019s registrar.<\/p>\n

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The accusations, Wallace said, were hard to deal with as they overtook social media. A handful of recently enrolled students at the Wine School of Philadelphia had withdrawn over concerns about Wallace\u2019s reputation after the lawsuit was filed, he said.<\/p>\n

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Wallace is assessing any financial damages caused by the suit and his school\u2019s subsequent dip in enrollment.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot a single person has walked away from one of my classes saying, \u2018This guy doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s talking about,\u2019\u201d Wallace said.\u201cThese accusations are just trying to diminish someone who is successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more A former Philadelphia correctional officer has been charged with assaulting an incarcerated man, DA says<\/a><\/p>\n

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The federal lawsuit alleged that the Wine School of Philadelphia had infringed on PhillyWine’s trademark for "Philly Wine School." 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