Shame on Bell's

[LouieMacGoo]

One little word. WTH?

Innovation Brewing of Sylva makes only about 500 barrels of beer a year, mostly
sold in Jackson County. But size doesn't matter in a tough trademark dispute with the much bigger Bell's Brewery of Kalamazoo, Michigan, which made more than 310,000 barrels last year.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news ... /24715493/

[Beer-lord]

I thought running a brewery was hard work. Someone seems to have too much time on their hands and nothing to do.
They should read about the flack Lagunitas had a while back before they mouth off.

[RickBeer]

I actually read that article elsewhere, and they had no choice. It isn't the name, it's that they filed for a trademark. Bells has to challenge it because otherwise their trademark value is impacted. Bell's offered to let them withdraw their trademark application and use the name, but got no agreement.

[berryman]

I actually read that article elsewhere, and they had no choice. It isn't the name, it's that the filed for a trademark. Bells has to challenge it because otherwise their trademark value is impacted. Bell's offered to let them withdraw their trademark application and use the name, but got no agreement.

Right, I'm always for the little guy/underdog but always two sides to every story.

[dbrowning]

I sent an email to Bells telling them I wont buy another beer from them if they don't drop it
Im sure they don't give a rats ass who's beer I buy

[FedoraDave]

I have to side with RickBeer on this one. I don't see it as a case of a big guy harassing a little guy; I see it as an early attempt to protect a brand. Yes, perhaps Innovation Brewing is a small concern right now, but who knows how big they will grow, and it's best to get things straightened out before it actually becomes a problem.

Say what you will about corporate lawyers and people with too much time on their hands, but it's always been this way. When my father was the editor of his small Tennessee college's paper, if he slipped up and allowed something like "after the game, everyone went downtown and had burgers and cokes", he'd actually get a letter from the Coca-Cola company, because Coke is a trademarked name, and should be capitalized, not used as a generic term for a cola drink. And this was in the 1940s.

Yes, some of these actions can be nonsensical. I actually do think the Lagunitas flap was idiotic. But this one has more merit. The underdog isn't always the one to root for, and there are indeed two sides to every story.

[FedoraDave]

Having said all that, though, it would be interesting if Taco Bell sued Bell's Brewing. They both use images of bells in their logo, after all....

[LouieMacGoo]

News flash, this just in. Bell Telephone has just sued Bell's Brewing stating brand confusion. They believe that people may attempt to make a phone call by opening a bottle of Bell's beer. When the "call" doesn't go through people will blame Bell Telephone for poor service!

[RickBeer]

Santa is also going after Bell's, as is Rudolph...

Dissimilar use. No one is going to confuse a beer company and its products with a former phone company (only Bell Labs still exists) and its products.

Edit - this just in - Star Trek's Borg Collective has filed suit against Louie MacGoo, owner of Beerborg.com, claiming trademark infringement. When asked how a forum about home brewing infringes on the Borg, the Borg Queen replied "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated".

Louie MacGoo was quoted as saying "I had no intention of bringing the wrath of Khan The Borg down upon me. I simply wanted to create an environment where home brewers could share ideas. I had no idea that 'Resistance is Futile, We Have Beer' would be confused with the Borg's slogan. Nor did I think that a Smilie designed to look like a Borg would be further infringement. Or a banner with a star-like background. I wish to make peace with the Borg, frankly I am scared sh&tless that they will assimilate me and my family".

When asked if she was threatening Louie MacGoo, the Borg Queen replied, "It is clear that Mr. MacGoo attempted to get closer to 7 of 9 with this forum, and that's not going to happen. He should lower his shields and prepare to be boarded."

[John Sand]

I don't think that Bell's is at all justified here. Innovation Brewing has built a small reputation around their name, they shouldn't have to change it. The word "innovation" isn't in the name of Bell's beer, or even on their bottles. (According to the article). You can't own each word in your slogan. KFC uses the word "chicken" in their slogan, think about it.

[joechianti]

I sent an email to Bells telling them I wont buy another beer from them if they don't drop it
Im sure they don't give a rats ass who's beer I buy

Don't be so sure about that. When I told the owner of the liquor store I shop at that I was moving to another city for a higher paying job, after he came to, he offered to pay me the difference in salary if I would stay here and continue shopping with him.

[BlackDuck]

I don't think that Bell's is at all justified here. Innovation Brewing has built a small reputation around their name, they shouldn't have to change it. The word "innovation" isn't in the name of Bell's beer, or even on their bottles. (According to the article). You can't own each word in your slogan. KFC uses the word "chicken" in their slogan, think about it.

I'm leaning this way also. It says in the article "Bell's says its unregistered advertising slogan "bottling innovation since 1985".... ". The fact that they are arguing against something that they admit is unregistered with the US Patent and Trademark Office is interesting to me. Now...if they had registered that as a trademark and use it on everything that they make available to the public, then it starts to become the brand, and then Bell's would have a case. At least that's what I think.

[duff]

I sent an email to Bells telling them I wont buy another beer from them if they don't drop it
Im sure they don't give a rats ass who's beer I buy

Don't be so sure about that. When I told the owner of the liquor store I shop at that I was moving to another city for a higher paying job, after he came to, he offered to pay me the difference in salary if I would stay here and continue shopping with him.

The offer you got was better than mine. My local beer store owner offered to hire me for what he described as slave like wages however it would be balanced by being able to purchase cases of beer for myself at the stores cost.

As for the Bell's issue I feel like Bell's is overstepping a little. As someone that used to be a huge Bell's fan and had some of their merchandise I didn't even know about that slogan. I don't think it will cause confusion and it wasn't registered.

But I haven't really been buying too much of their beer recently. It started getting more expensive compared to other options I liked better. I still pick up a sixer of something like Hopslam or Oarsman every now and again if they are on sale but I haven't been a consistent consumer for a while.

[Brewbirds]

It is apparently becoming an epidemic with lager Craft breweries behaving like The Evil Corporate Beer Overlords.

Of course you'll notice the focus here starts with "Beer Lawyers" starting to work "The Small Fry".

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/growing-c ... rademarks/

We're paying (well, I'm not) 12 dollars a six pack because every lawyers needs their status symbol cars and gated affluent addresses.

If a Trademark application has already been filed (and is reasonable i.e. not the word beer) it should be first come first served. Thus no need to sue the second in line who should just get rejected.

I think this is the beginning of a a great big craft brewery bubble bursting and it is probably time for it as supply shortage (hops etc.) rumors start to circulate and prices get extreme.

[FedoraDave]

It's difficult to know if these things are a case of the tail wagging the dog, or if it's driven by the market, as Brewbird suggests, or, as she also pointed out, if it's a matter of reaching a certain size as a craft brewer turning you evil. Or maybe a combination of all three and some other forces we may not even be aware of.

But it occurred to me a day or so ago that these legal battles within the craft beer community are indeed mirroring what is documented in Beer Wars. If you haven't seen that documentary, look it up. And then take the concepts observed about BMC toward their craft competition and apply it to this case, or the recent Lagunitas issue.

Maybe it's not personal; maybe it's just business. But even though the Corleones would insist that was the case, people still died.