Having a noble purpose is not enough to avoid a cease and desist request for alleged trademark infringement. Just ask Yellowstone Valley Brewing Co. The Billings, MT, brewery announced today it has changed the name of its charitable pint night after receiving such a letter from attorneys representing Ninkasi Brewing, LLC. Like many breweries, Yellowstone…
News came this week that Missoula Montana’s Big Sky Brewing Co. was voluntarily dismissing its trademark lawsuit against AB InBev after an agreement was reached between the parties. Big Sky filed the lawsuit over AB InBev’s alleged infringement of Big Sky’s “Hold My Beer and Watch This” trademark. Big Sky uses the slogan on its…
By now you’re sure to have read about Big Sky Brewing Co.’s lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev, the global conglomerate responsible for Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Becks, to name a few. The news has circled the beer world and has also been carried in such non-beer related publications like the Huffington Post. In short, Missoula Montana-based…
West Sixth Brewing Co. in Lexington, KY, recently provided the perfect example of how not to handle a trademark dispute. Very public complaints of stupidity and corporate bullying quickly shifted into additional claims of defamation and a very public retraction. Now that the dust has settled, John Cochran, President and co-founder of Terrapin Beer Company,…
There’s something to be said for edginess, irreverence, non-conformance, or a push-the-limits style to marketing your product and business. Yet, even those who do it well generally know when to take something seriously and cut the crap. As we wrote last week, West Sixth Brewing Co. recently expressed its frustrations over a trademark lawsuit by…
In the world of beer-related trademark infringement disputes, there’s no more frequent call to arms than David vs. Goliath.* The big boys have the “fancy lawyers” and engage in “corporate bullying” in an attempt to squash the little guy who is just trying to make good beer. The latest in these fights is Magic Hat…
You probably don’t think about it much when enjoying the hops in your favorite IPA or the roasted malts of a robust stout, but there’s a lot of intellectual property* in beer. It’s the curse nature of my day job that often leads me to such thoughts even when I should be blissfully kicking back…