A Trademark Year In Wine And Beer: Our 2014 Holiday Buyer’s Guide To Disputed Beverages

If you are hosting or attending a party this holiday season, you probably need to pick up something to drink. This year, why not pick up a conversation starter as well? See if your local liquor store (in our neck of the woods, a "packie") carries one of the many beverages that were the subject of a trademark or similar dispute in 2014. In deciding an 1891 trademark case, Lord MacNaghten famously quipped: "Thirsty folk want beer, not explanations." Well, with our guide, you can provide both beer and explanations. You'll be of the life party (provided, that is, the party is full of trademark lawyers with no outside interests).

Where possible, we've included information we found online about price and availability, but we haven't verified that information and can't vouch for the sites to which we've linked (or whether it's legal for you to buy this stuff online from your location). Also, with very few exceptions, we have no idea how any of these products taste. So, if you want to tell us about your experience with one of these potables, or if we missed your favorite disputed quaff, write in and let us know!

BEER

Alamo Beer. In March, the makers of Alamo Beer filed suit for trademark infringement in the Western District of Texas, alleging that a competitor was using a confusingly similar trade dress, including a silhouette of the historic building. The State of Texas, owner of the actual Alamo, intervened (with permission of the Court and over the plaintiff's objection) in order to protect its own ALAMO marks. A six-pack of Alamo Beer is reportedly on sale here for $8.20. The defendant's Texian brand beer is available at various Texas locations. Alamo Brewing Co., LLC v. Old 300 Brewing Company, Case No. 5:14-cv-00285.

Benediktiner Weissbier. The TTAB reversed the refusal to register the mark BENEDIKTINER WEISSBIER for a German beer manufactured in a joint venture with a Benedictine order of monks. The examiner found that the word "Benediktiner" was merely descriptive of the beer's monastic origins, but the TTAB held that the term functioned as a trademark to identify the Benedictine order as a single commercial source of goods. The brew does not appear to be easily available in the U.S., but we found some in the UK for under £2 a bottle. In re BEDA Investments GmbH, 2014 TTAB LEXIS 251 (Trademark Trial & App. Bd., June 10, 2014).

Boneyard Brew. The TTAB affirmed the refusal to register BONEYARD BREW for sauces in light of its likely confusion with prior "Boneyard" registrations. Information about Ohio's Boneyard Beer Farm is available here. Also, "Boneyard Beer" is available from this Oregon brewer. In re Perry, 2014 TTAB LEXIS 155 (Trademark Trial & App. Bd. May 2, 2014).

Dark Horse. Michigan-based Dark Horse Brewery filed a trademark infringement action against Kansas-based Dark Horse Distillery in the Western District of Michigan. The Court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss, holding in part that the defendant's interactive website served as the basis for personal jurisdiction. Dark Horse Distillery whiskey is advertised here at list prices between $55 and $80 per bottle. Dark Horse beer is reportedly on tap at the Dark Horse Brewing Company at $4 for a 16 oz. draft. Mor-Dall Enters. v. Dark Horse Distillery, 2014 Dist. LEXIS 51721 (W.D. Mich. 2014).

Dos Equis. The Mexican brewer responsible for the "stay thirsty, my friends" campaign successfully opposed an individual's attempt to register the mark STAY HYDRATED MY FRIENDS. Dos Equis is available pretty much everywhere, including the twelve pack advertised here for $12.99. Cervezas Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma SA de CV v. Branden Weaver, 2014 TTAB LEXIS 321 (Trademark Trial & App. Bd. July 31, 2014).

Empire Strikes Bock. Lucasfilm Ltd. opposed the registration of EMPIRE STRIKES BOCK for beer brewed by a New York company doing business as the Empire Brewing Company. The matter is pending. Empire beers appear to be only available on tap at its own pub and at a few other locations in New York. Lucasfilm Ltd. v. Empire Brewing Company, Opp. No. 91218848.

Five Golden Rings. The TTAB affirmed the refusal to register 5 GOLDEN RINGS for beer on the grounds that it might be confused with GOLD RING for wines. A 2009 Gold Ring Cabernet Sauvignon costs about $6 a bottle, according to this site. The Bruery's 5 Golden Rings beer appears to be extinct, but a 750ml bottle of its similarly-themed 7 Swans-a-Swimming Ale is available for about $10.99. The Bruery, LLC, Serial No. 85656671 (Trademark Trial & App. Bd. Sept. 24, 2014).

Great White. In July, Lost Coast Brewery filed suit in the Northern District of California, alleging that the shark-themed label of Aviator Brewing's "Mad Beach" wheat beer infringed the trade dress of its own GREAT WHITE wheat beer. The Court dismissed the case for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the parties are now fighting it out in North Carolina. A six-pack of Great White is advertised here for $8.99. Information about Mad Beach is available here. Table Bluff...