Moosehead Breweries Cuts And Runs From Trademark Suit Against Hop 'N Moose Brewing

from the a-moosing dept

For the past few years, we have detailed several trademark actions brought by Moosehead Breweries Limited, the iconic Canadian brewery that makes Moosehead beer, against pretty much every other alcohol-related business that dares to use the word "moose" or any moose images. This recent trend has revealed that Moosehead is of the opinion that only it can utilize the notorious animal symbol of both Canada and the northern United States. Without any seeming care for whether actual confusion might exist in the marketplace, these actions by Moosehead have instead smacked of pure protectionism over a common word and any and all images of a common animal.

One of those actions included a suit against Hop 'N Moose Brewing, a small microbrewery out of Vermont. The filing in that case was notable in that it actually alleged detailed examples of trade dress infractions, while the images of the trade dress included in the filing appeared to be fairly distinct. Absent, of course, was any evidence of actual confusion in the marketplace. It appeared for all the world that Moosehead's legal team seemed to take past criticism of its trademark protectionism as a critique of the word and image count in its filings and simply decided to up the volume on both ends. Since late last year, despite having done all of this legal literary work to support the suit, little if anything had been litigated after the initial filing.

And now it seems this whole thing will suddenly go away. Without any real explanation from either party, Moosehead has dropped its suit entirely.

Moosehead Breweries has dropped its trademark infringement lawsuit against Rutland’s only brewpub. The notice of voluntary dismissal, filed earlier this month in federal court, gives no explanation for the Canadian brewery’s abandonment of the action. The dismissal was filed without prejudice, meaning Moosehead is free to file the lawsuit anew if it chooses.

As the article goes on to note, pretty much nobody on either side is offering any explanation for any of this. Moosehead itself, along with its attorneys, are remaining silent on the matter. Hop 'N Moose, for its part, has acknowledged that it has been communicating with Moosehead, but only to reiterate that it doesn't feel any potential for confusion exists. Often times when there is a settlement, either the court or one of the parties mentions its existence, even if the details of the settlement are confidential. That tends to be the case more often in trademark cases compared with copyright cases, as well. Yet here, nobody is talking about a settlement of any kind. Instead, this seems to be Moosehead simply packing its bags and heading back across the border, although we cannot be certain no settlement was reached.

And, while that's a better outcome for a small entity like Hop 'N Moose than a long, drawn out trial, it's worth remembering that it still had the burden of having to deal with even this truncated legal action, all because Moosehead filed a trademark suit that wasn't worth carrying through in the first place. Whatever that means for the exploding craft beer industry, it isn't good for growth and innovation.

Filed Under: beer, moose, moosehead beer, trademark
Companies: hop 'n moose brewing, moosehead breweries

Trademark Bullying Works: Mooselick Brewing Co. Becomes Granite Roots Brewing Out Of Fear Of Moosehead Breweries

from the the-moose-is-loose dept

I will occasionally get a common question when discussing stories about trademark bullies: why do these bullies actually do this? The easy answer is, of course, because it works. And it works on many levels. For example, the primary targets in actual lawsuits can be bullied out of using names and terms for their businesses or brands, so it works on that level. But that's really just the tip of the iceberg. Where being a trademark bully really works is when it makes lawsuits unnecessary, because other businesses and people are so fearful of the bully tactic.

To see that in practice, one need only look at the brewery formerly named Mooselick Brewing Co., which is now rebranding itself as Granite Roots Brewing without putting up a fight against, you guessed it, Moosehead Breweries.

Mooselick started selling beer in July 2015 and opened its tap room on Route 12 in Troy soon after with a name that honored their local heritage.

“We thought it was fun, interesting and it kind of paid homage to the moose,” Oliver Levick said Monday. “We thought it was one of the coolest of animals in New Hampshire, and that we could have fun and play with and have some moose themes.”

It wasn't long before the lawyers for Moosehead Breweries came calling. Levick mentions in the article that he was shocked that trademarks could be so broad as to cover everything using anything moose-related in the alcohol industry. It's a notion familiar to many, with the mind naturally recoiling at the idea that so broad a thing could be locked up by a singular player for a massive marketplace. The actual test for trademark, as you will know, is whether there is potential for confusion by consumers. As with many of the legal threats levied by Moosehead Breweries, that seems as though it would have been unlikely in this case.

Except we'll never see that question adjudicated in court, because Mooselick chose to take on the substantial costs for rebranding itself instead.

“We didn’t have the resources for a long, drawn-out legal battle,” Levick said. So the owners notified Moosehead of a transition plan and worked on creating a new name and image for the brewery.

Levick and his friends Iodice and LoDulce had all grown up in New Hampshire and wanted to pay tribute to their roots and the brewery’s commitment to the state.

The warning shot by Moosehead Breweries was all it needed to fire -- so entrenched is its reputation for trademark bullying and its willingness to engage in costly lawsuits. Startups understandably do the math on whether fighting the fight is more costly than simply rebranding. It's unfortunate that what was once a consumer-protection mechanism has devolved into this kind of sanctioned bullying.

Filed Under: beer, trademark, trademark bullying
Companies: granite roots brewing, moosehead breweries, mooselick brewing co.