Baker Botts, McKool Smith & Lidji Dorey Lead Dr Pepper and Dublin Bottler Settlement

by Mark Curriden, Senior Legal Affairs Writer
The 1970s Dr Pepper commercial was catchy: “I’m a Pepper, he’s a Pepper, she’s a Pepper, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper, too?”
As of Wednesday evening, that offer was no longer open to Dr. Pepper Bottling of Dublin, Texas.
Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. announced that it has resolved all of its disputes over the Dr Pepper trademark and distributions with Dr Pepper Bottling of Dublin, Texas, which is the oldest independent Dr Pepper bottling operation (1891).
As part of the settlement agreement, Dr Pepper Snapple has “purchased all of the Dublin bottler’s sales and distribution operations and related assets, as well as the rights to distribute Dr Pepper and other DPS brands in the six-county territory previously served by Dublin,” according to a press release issued by Dr Pepper late Wednesday. The purchase price was not released.
For more details on the litigation and settlement, click here.
The lawyers involved in the litigation and settlement were James Baldwin Jr., who is executive vice president and general counsel at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and Michael Woods, who is an intellectual property law expert in the Dr Pepper Snapple corporate law department.
Dr Pepper Snapple’s outside counsel was led by Van H. Beckwith, who is a partner in the Dallas office of Baker Botts. A 1990 SMU Dedman Law School graduate, Beckwith has developed a litigation niche within the food and beverage industry. He has represented Dr Pepper Snapple is various consumer product labeling claims cases.
The lawyers representing Dr Pepper Bottling of Dublin were Brian Lidji, a M&A partner at Dallas-based Lidji Dorey & Hooper; and Tom Graves and Steve Wolens, two McKool Smith partners who specialize in complex commercial litigation.
DPS sued last year claiming that Dublin had attempted to create a subbrand or submark called Dublin Dr Pepper with the effort of improperly expanding its territory in violation of the parties’ license agreement. The case represented the most high-profile licensor-licensee trademark dispute in the United States in 2011 and 2012. The legal issues involved in the dispute focused on protecting the strength and integrity of the world-famous Dr Pepper trademark.