(Bloomberg) - The litigation lasted longer than the bourbon-aging process. Yesterday, more than nine years after the case was originally filed, a federal appellate court found that the signature red wax seal used on Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc.’s bourbon bottles is a valid trademark. The Kentucky distillery, owned by Deerfield, Illinois-based Beam Inc., (BEAM) originally sued Diageo Plc (DGE), the world’s biggest liquor maker, in 2003, claiming Diageo’s Jose Cuervo infringed its trademark by using a red wax seal on bottles of tequila.