Here’s a different way to respond to a trademark dispute.
They have to protect their trademark or they will lose it. He is just looking for attention.
Yes and yes.
that does not make it any less funny.
I like that he gave them all the profits. Classic!
I thought it was well handled by the brewery. Starbucks did what the Starbucks of the world do and that’s cool. He 100% complied with the order and even went above and beyond in sending back the profit. and got some cheap press out of the deal.
I suspect it was done on purpose for the free publicity. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this exact story.
For those thinking that it was all done for publicity, you don’t know Jeff.
Exit 6 is the brewery right now the street from my mom’s house in St. Louis and is the “family watering hole”.
The owner, Jeff, is a former homebrew club president who left his post when he opened this place. It is his only source of income and he works 100-120 hours a week. He is brash, cocky and totally enjoyable. Knowing the man, I would expect nothing else from him, and am very happy that the little brewery down the street has gotten some free publicity.
The beer in question is now called “The F Word” and really is quite delicious.
Well, I meant no disrespect to Jeff. And I would probably try to do the same thing if I had my own business and the opportunity came up. I just see this exact story every 2 or 3 months and I wonder when it will stop working as a publicity grab. If he didn’t want the publicity he would have complied and not published the letter. Again, I’m not trying to imply he did a bad thing, I was just stating my guess as to the motives. (sorry, motive has a negative connotation, as in motive for a crime, I just can’t think of a more appropriate word right now)
I don’t know. Frappuccino is one of those words that has entered the jargon like crock pot. As I read the story it was not even a single beer but a sort of black and tan and the customers said it rated like a frappuccino.
The battle for jerk of the month going on in the comments was more entertaining than the article to me. All the people making statements that start with “I’m a lawyer” seem like folks who didn’t pay attention in class. I have many friends who a lawyers, judges and law professors who always say you never get involved if you are aren’t needed (i.e. paid). For the record: IANAL ;D
Oh well, the response was funny enough and he got his 15 minutes of fame. Starbucks protected its trademark, as it should have and he still sells beer. Sounds like it worked out fine.
Paul
Indeed. It’s a 50/50 blend of a collaboration between him and the chocolate bar down the street and his Vanilla Cream Ale.
This actually makes me understand a little more why companies must go after this kind of infringement. Frappacino is on the edge of becoming a common word. I’m certain nobody ordered a beer thinking it was coffee, and I doubt anybody thought it was a collaboration of any sort. But their use does make the term more commonplace.
I’m a lawyer and sometimes we can’t help ourselves.
Now this one is a little more interesting and less black and white.
Big sky going after InBev.
[quote]said Rob McCarthy, vice president of Bud Light marketing. “There is no trademark use of the phrase ‘Hold my beer and watch this,’
[/quote]
A-B VP of marketing should learn how to use internets.
Yes Big Sky holds this trademark in beer category.
[quote]Word Mark HOLD MY BEER AND WATCH THIS
Goods and Services IC 032. US 045 046 048. G & S: Beer. FIRST USE: 20040224. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20040224
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77647740
Filing Date January 12, 2009
Current Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Published for Opposition June 23, 2009
Registration Number 3679052
Registration Date September 8, 2009
Owner (REGISTRANT) Big Sky Brewing Company CORPORATION MONTANA 5417 Trumpeter Way Missoula MONTANA 59808
Attorney of Record Shane A. Vannatta
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE
[/quote]
I think the Big Sky case is extremely black and white given Big Sky has a mark for beer purposes on the identical phrase.
I remember seeing “hold my beer” t-shirts and the jokes from when I was a kid, well before big sky existed.
Don’t confuse trademarks with patents/copyright. Patents/copyrights are for original ideas. Trademarks just reserve a word or phrase for your use as branding - it doesn’t need to be original. For example, I could trademark Delaware Brewing Company, Triangle Brewpub, or Idiot Taproom even though I didn’t invent Delaware, triangles, or idiots.