ZAP // Pedro Piscal; Gage Skidmore / Wikipedia
Pedro Piscal vs Pedro Pascal
Pedro Piscal is the newest Chilean brand whose name reminds us of Hollywood, and is facing a legal battle with actor Pedro Pascal. Brands like Miel Gibson, Star Wash and Superpan were also taken to court — and won. “Chileans are very naughty, that’s it.”
The actor Pedro Pascal is fighting a legal battle against a Chilean trader of pisco, a popular spirit drink very popular in Chile and Peru, who chose a cheeky name for the brand of your drink: .
The brand was registered in 2023 with the Chilean commercial regulator by the Chilean beverage producer David Herrerawho began selling his robin at local wineries and restaurants.
“We tried several names and Pedro Piscal stuck“, says Herrera, 41, to . “So we were planning a trip to the Pisco region when, Suddenly, we started receiving emails from lawyers in a very harsh tone.”
“Me, a mere mortal, receiving emails because of a superstar actor? Scared me a little”, confesses the Chilean businessman.
Pedro Pascal, who was born in Chile and is a very popular figure in his home country, did not appear at the first court hearing, but came forward with a request to take control of the brand, claiming the similarity with its name and brand image.
Herrera is not the first Chilean businessman to find himself in court in front of a Hollywood star because of an irreverent pun.
In 2020, a honey producing company, which used an image of “Braveheart”, a film starring Mel Gibson, on its label, managed to keep the designation after the actor sued her.
In 2020, the DC Comics attacked a bakery in Santiago that was called Superpan three decades ago and used images of Clark Kent and the famous “S” symbol. The bakery won.
Across town, not far from the printing press Harry Plotterlocal businessman Matías Jara manages the Star Washa car wash company that seeks extensive references in the Star Wars universe — and even uses the famous saga font.
“Chileans are mischievous, that’s it“, said Jara. “We are always jokingaea make jokes. We changed the lyrics of songs in English to Chileanizeand we like wordplay — I love Star Wars and I just wanted to stand out with my brand.”
Once a month, motorists can vacuum their car floors under the watchful eye of Chewbacca or sit behind the wheel while a group of Stormtroopers oversees the polishing of the windshields, as the space has become a meeting place popular entre cosplayers.
A Star Wash won the first legal battle against Lucasfilm, which owns the rights to the Star Wars franchise, and was able to keep the name. Even so, he continues to await a decision in another lawsuit that could force Jara to change the company’s name.
Meanwhile, Herrera is prepared to defend his brand tooth and nail. The Chilean explains that he and his cousins enjoyed a good fish (pisco with Coca-Cola and ice), and they called it blinks. “Pedro comes from the name of the Pedro Ximénez grape variety, from which the brandy is distilled”, he explains.
It’s a good attempt, but Pedro Pascal’s lawyers won’t join in the conversation. The managing partner of the office that represents the actor, Juan Pablo Silvais optimistic, after preliminary decisions that transferred ownership of two online domains from Herrera to Pascal, and the actor having managed to register the name as a trademark.
Herrera says that he does not regret “not for a moment” having created Pedro Piscal, and also remains optimistic: “We do not use Pascal’s face or any resemblance to him anywhere. We’re just selling a good product”.
