3 Floyds Brewing Goes After Abnormal Beer Co. All Because Of Its Trademarked Slogan 'It's Not Normal'

from the this-isn't-normal dept

It's no secret that sometimes a company's lawyers get way out ahead of how their client would want them to behave in protecting their intellectual property. We've seen many a story in which threat letters go out, only to have ownership on both sides of a dispute get together and settle things amicably. And if there's any industry in which this should absolutely happen, it should be the craft brewing industry, where there has long been a tradition of fraternity and peaceful coexistence.

And that almost seemed like it's what was going to happen when Abnormal Beer Co. got a letter from the lawyers for 3 Floyds Brewing.

Happy ending, right? Unfortunately, that Instagram post was not the end of the story. In a separate post, Abnormal has informed the public that any assurances it had been given that the lawyers would be called off were apparently not sincere. The lawyers for 3 Floyds is insisting now that Abnormal not only pull its trademark application for the beer industry, but for its winery as well.

To be frank, the fact that there is any dispute here at all is silly. 3 Floyds' opposition is flatly unnecessary, as nobody is going to somehow mix up or mistake association between Abnormal Beer Co. and a company with a slogan such as "It's not normal." The marks aren't particularly similar and, when you consider the context of the rest of the trade dress, are unlikely to cause any confusion.

On top of that, the PR game Abnormal is playing with its Instagram posts is quite strong.

We want to be clear, we are not a threat and we do not want a legal battle over something as silly as this; the only people who win are the lawyers. We’ve been at multiple festivals in different countries together and we all know there is no confusion between the 3 Floyds and Abnormal brands.

As fans of 3 Floyds Brewery, we have saved a beer for you Nick, should you decide to change your mind and reach out to work this out with us. Let’s be friends, not enemies; that’s what the spirit of craft is about, a spirit you yourself helped cultivate. There shouldn’t be anything sharing a beer can’t fix.

It's a smart appeal, which is something that fans of the craft beer industry will care about. Again, why 3 Floyds wants to continue this hit to its reputation is beyond me.

Filed Under: abnormal, beer, it's not normal, slogan, trademark
Companies: 3 floyds brewing, abnormal beer co.

Vancouver Olympics Unhappy With 'Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 and 2011 Edition' Slogan

from the oh-really? dept

We've been covering how the Olympics has been able to get various governments around the world to grant it extra special intellectual property protection on certain words and phrases, with the upcoming Vancouver Olympics being no exception. In that case, you have to be careful of the use of "Vancouver," "Olympics," and even "2010." So, clothing maker Lululemon decided to come up with a line that mocks these restrictions, with a brand new line of clothing called:

"Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 and 2011 Edition."

Note how careful the company is to avoid any of the restricted words. Nicely done.

Of course, guess who isn't happy? Reader Joe McEnaney alerts us to the news that, even though the Vancouver Olympics can't officially do anything to Lululemon, it has decided to try shaming the company instead, expressing disappointment that the company has "has broken the spirit of Olympic trademark regulations." Of course, even so, the Olympic officials seem to misunderstand what's going on here. They claim:

"We expected better sportsmanship from a local Canadian company than to produce a clothing line that attempts to profit from the Games but doesn't support the Games or the success of the Canadian Olympic team."

But, of course, that's not what's going on here at all. They're not trying to profit off of the Olympic Games. They're trying to profit off of the ridiculous free speech restrictions put in place by the Olympics for no good reason.

Filed Under: artwork, olympics, slogan, vancouver
Companies: lululemon

My Life. My Card. My Intellectual Property Battle.

from the the-world-we-live-in dept

Barely a day goes by when we don't hear of yet another story about some sort of intellectual property claim being asserted where it doesn't belong. It's a function of a current culture where people are being incorrectly taught that every idea, every concept, every word and every sound should be protected and "owned" despite the fact that these things, by their very nature, are infinite and can be freely shared at no cost to anyone. The latest such case involves a guy who apparently pitched the slogan "My Card. My Life" to American Express a while back. Soon afterwards, entirely independently, AmEx's own ad agency pitched the same slogan, which is now being used. After discovering that the other guy was trying to trademark (we assume, even though the article claims "patent") the phrase, AmEx sued to get a declaratory judgment that its use of the phrase did not infringe. Thankfully, a judge has agreed that no infringement occurred. Yet, in this age, where we're being incorrectly bombarded with the message that ideas can be owned and protected, it's no surprise that American Express would worry about such a thing.

Filed Under: intellectual property, ownership, slogan
Companies: american express