Brewdog & the over zealous lawyer

[stewy]

I guess Stone and Wood shouldn't have challenged Thunder Road for using Pacific Ale then?

1 - They lost
2 - They should have challenged due to the fact it was another beer replicating their name
3 - This is a bar that had the word punk in it's name, not an exact replica ala pacific ale.

I have tried to see it from their angle but it doesn't fly and makes them looks like absolute dicks, which is probably why they have released a press release retracting their earlier actions...

 

[Matplat]

Yeah, while it is a funny letter, they are ********* for doing it, definitely taken a step down in my book.

 

[crowmanz]

1 - They lost
2 - They should have challenged due to the fact it was another beer replicating their name
3 - This is a bar that had the word punk in it's name, not an exact replica ala pacific ale.

I have tried to see it from their angle but it doesn't fly and makes them looks like absolute dicks, which is probably why they have released a press release retracting their earlier actions...

They are both trademark disputes. Wild Yak can use Pacific Ale because they have rights to the trademark.

For the draft punk issue BrewDog owns the trademark to punk regarding beer, they also own bars that have punk written all over them.

It's not a hard stretch from draft punk craft beer bar to brew pub that brews a draft punk IPA, then gets bought out by AB InBev.

You defend your trademark or you lose it. Were the lawyers over the top? Sure, but that's what they are paid to do.

Brewdog only retracted their actions regarding the lone wolf bar. Which their trademark related to vodka.

 

[wynnum1]

Relax XXX Anal Spray do you think there is a chance of a law suit.

 

[Parks]

You defend your trademark or you lose it.

This seems to be lost on people. You are obliged to defend your trademark. If you knowingly don't your trademark is then worthless.

 

[malt junkie]

This seems to be lost on people. You are obliged to defend your trademark. If you knowingly don't your trademark is then worthless.

WB Parks long time since I last saw you post.

 

[JDW81]

I don't have the same sense of outrage that is brewing (no pun intended) over this.

Should Brewdog have called of their overzealous lawyers (if in fact they even knew about it before it hit the press)? Probably.

Do Brewdog have a right to defend their trademarks? Absolutely.

I'd wager most businesses big and small would probably act in a similar way if the circumstances were repeated. I reckon mountain goat might have had something to say if there was a bar somewhere that dubbed itself the Hightail Hotel, or Bridge Road Brewery might get the lawyers involved if a Bar in Richmond called itself the Bridge Road Brew Pub.

Brewdog may have started out as punks, trying to stick it to the big brewers, however they are now a large(ish) producer, with an international footprint who need to protect their bottom line to remain viable. This includes protecting their trademarks. They're also at a size where the owners are not going to know what happens in every single inch of the organisation. They pay their legal team to look out for their business/trademarks, and it seems that is what has happened.

I'll still buy Brewdog beers as I think they make good beer, and If I'm ever in Birmingham I'll spend some of my hard earned at the Wolf Bar.

Just my view on things.

JD.

 

[Parks]

WB Parks long time since I last saw you post.

I'm a lurker now more than a poster.

 

[wynnum1]

I'm a lurker now more than a poster.

Do you get anything for being a member for 10 years i see 24 September 07 is your joined date when did AHB start.

 

[Yob]

Still see folks with an 04 join date so I'm tipping about then.
When Brewdog stated that they released all their recipes, I had to cough '********'

There is so much process information deliberately left out on some of their beers it's a joke.

Think dog E, done with nagar chillies, not even mentioned let alone chille heat, weight, where in the process.

Great marketing spin but ******* useless as far as being able to replicate goes.