Shipyard Brewing Sues The Brewery It Is Trademark Bullying Over The Public Backlash To Its Trademark Bullying

from the bullies-squared dept

You may recall that the middle of last summer saw us reporting on a somewhat odd trademark dispute between two breweries, Shipyard Brewing Co. and Logboat Brewing Company. Chiefly at issue was the fact that both breweries used images of schooners on their respective labels, except that the images used were laughably different. Also at issue was that Logboat's "Shiphead" beer used the word "head", which Shipyard says it uses in a variety of other beers, such as Pumpkinhead, Melonhead and other variations. Shipyard, notably, does not have a beer called "Shiphead", making this all the more eyebrow-raising.

Well, after we and others reported on this silly lawsuit, it seems that many within the craft beer fanship and community, a passionate group to be sure, felt a desire to let Shipyard Brewing know what they thought of this behavior. This is a common result when passionate fanbases get wind of bad actions taken within an industry. Despite that, Shipyard had apparently decided that all of this backlash was the fault of Logboat Brewing, and added a defamation charge to its lawsuit.

The Maine craft brewery’s complaint alleged that the hundreds of one-star reviews as well as negative news articles were prompted by Logboat employees, who made defamatory statements concerning Shipyard to the public “as retribution for Shipyard filing suit.” The brewery listed three examples of statements it considered to be defamatory:

-Suggestions that Shipyard is pursuing the trademark lawsuit for ulterior motives

-Unsubstantiated claims that Shipyard is a trademark bully

-General insults concerning Shipyard’s business and the quality of its beers

Well, the judge presiding over all of this has issued a ruling on that portion of this dispute, roundly rejecting the latter two of those three claims by Shipyard because they are matters or expressions of opinion. She went on to say that the claim of ulterior motive is something that could be proved in court and allowed Shipyard to amend its filing accordingly.

U.S. District Court Judge Nanette Laughrey dismissed parts of a defamation claim against Logboat that alleged the craft brewery’s employees slandered Maine-based Shipyard Brewing Company in retaliation for a lawsuit filed in May.

It's not a good first look for Shipyard and it's worth remembering that all of this consternation is in the service of a trademark lawsuit that is wholly unnecessary and one that is almost certainly itself tarnishing the reputation of the brewery in the eyes of the craft beer consuming public. It's probably time for Shipyard to cut both anchor and its losses.

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Filed Under: trademark
Companies: longboat brewing, shipyard brewing


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  1. icon
    sorrykb (profile), 16 Jan 2018 @ 7:52pm

    First rule...

    - “Hey, boss, this hole’s getting pretty deep. Think we maybe should call it a day?”
    - “Nah, keep digging! We must be getting close!”

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Mononymous Tim (profile), 16 Jan 2018 @ 8:04pm

    The Maine craft brewery’s complaint alleged that the hundreds of one-star reviews as well as negative news articles were prompted by Logboat employees, who made defamatory statements concerning Shipyard to the public “as retribution for Shipyard filing suit.”

    No, that's the general public that you're calling stupid, ya geniuses!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Noah Beery, 16 Jan 2018 @ 9:40pm

    Gratuitous insult

    What a bunch of shipheads.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. icon
    Stephen T. Stone (profile), 16 Jan 2018 @ 10:20pm

    I have a name that Shipyard could use after this all plays out. Hell, all they would need to do is change one letter in their current name. It would make them unmarketable as a brewery, sure, but it might make them perfect for fertilizer sales.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 16 Jan 2018 @ 10:51pm

    Not the word I would have used...

    '-Unsubstantiated claims that Shipyard is a trademark bully'

    Yeah, keep thinking that, because to those looking in from the outside that particular ship sailed a good while back.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Jan 2018 @ 11:27pm

    Re: Not the word I would have used...

    I’m pretty sure that by filing this, they have substantiated those very claims.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    Ninja (profile), 17 Jan 2018 @ 1:35am

    Something tells me this ship is gonna sink. /derp

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. icon
    oliver (profile), 17 Jan 2018 @ 1:40am

    Hello Mr. Shipyard and Longboat..... meet Ms. Streisand!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2018 @ 3:19am

    what a ship hole of a company

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2018 @ 3:20am

    This could have all been avoided if only Shipyard had a Clearhead to begin with.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2018 @ 3:27am

    We all know truth is the ultimate defence against a defamation claim, so a taste-test would probably been enough to throw out the second part of the third claim.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2018 @ 3:37am

    Re: a name that Shipyard could use after this all plays out

    Or, you could just hold the tip of your tongue with your finger and thumb while you say their name.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    orbitalinsertion (profile), 17 Jan 2018 @ 8:22am

    So... let's file a defamation claim by making a defamatory claim. Good job.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    Pixelation, 17 Jan 2018 @ 8:26am

    Perhaps Shipyard's new motto...

    All Ship Are Belong To Us!

    It would be interesting to see the supposed comment from Logboat about the "ulterior motive" of the lawsuit and who said what exactly.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    The Dark Avenger, 17 Jan 2018 @ 8:38am

    This reminds me of the old saying that a boat is a hole in the water that you throw money into. I wonder how much the lawyer’s fees are by now?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. icon
    Ed (profile), 17 Jan 2018 @ 9:00am

    What a shiphole!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Jan 2018 @ 9:13am

    Re:

    It makes you wonder what sort of shipheads run that place. This was definitely a shipheaded decision on the part of either the corporate managers or their lawyer.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Christenson, 17 Jan 2018 @ 10:47am

    Heavy Seas...

    Time for a pint of Heavy Seas "Loose Cannon" IPA, lol.

    Talk about a crowded field!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    michael, 17 Jan 2018 @ 2:00pm

    Wha?

    /r/titlegore

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. icon
    murgatroyd (profile), 17 Jan 2018 @ 2:40pm

    Re: First rule...

    A classic example of the "sunk cost" fallacy - literally.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. icon
    Bergman (profile), 18 Jan 2018 @ 6:48pm

    Re: Not the word I would have used...

    Truth is an absolute defense against any defamation claim. Does Shiphead REALLY want that proven in court?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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