Back in 2018 (seems like a decade ago during these unusual times), I posted a couple times about a trademark infringement complaint by Stone Brewing, a craft brewery in California, against MillerCoors. The complaint alleged that the rebranded cans and packaging of the Keystone beer, which added separate emphasis of the word “STONE,”
MillerCoors
Hamm It Up? The Latest Brand to Verb It Up!
It’s been a little while since the last example we’ve shared showing a brand turning its face, or a blind eye, on age-old rigid trademark advice, counseling against using a brand name as a verb.
Given the more common trend of many alcoholic beverage brands focusing attention and their messaging on drinking responsibly…
Update: Stone Brewing v. MillerCoors – Answer and Counterclaims
A couple months ago, I posted about the contentious trademark battle involving Stone Brewing Co., a craft brewery based in California, who filed a trademark infringement complaint against giant beer conglomerate MillerCoors LLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. (“MillerCoors”). The complaint is based on the recent rebranding of the MillerCoors “Keystone” beer, which separates and…
Stone Brewing v. MillerCoors: A Key(STONE) Trademark Battle
Stone Brewing Co., an independent craft brewery based in California, has filed a trademark infringement complaint against MillerCoors LLC and Molson Coors Brewing Co. (collectively “MillerCoors”). The complaint is based on the recent rebranding of the MillerCoors “Keystone” beer. The rebranded packaging separates “Keystone” into two words, with the smaller word “KEY” on a separate…
A Few Weekend Views and Brand Sighting(s)
My daughter captured some artsy pics from our beautiful Fall weekend, can you guess where we were? I’ll give you three visual hints:
Those clues weren’t all that helpful, I suppose, so how about these souvenirs and brand sighting?
But, what brand sighting is this really, are there actually two here, one overlaid on the…
Is Brewer’s BOSTON 2024 Ahead of Its Time?
-Martha Engel, Attorney
Boston Beer Corporation, makers of Samuel Adams beer, received approval for its intent-to-use trademark application for the word mark BOSTON 2024 for “beer,” which generated some news buzz in light of the city’s bid for the 2024 Olympics. While the move was praised as a smart business strategy to grab the…
Inventing a Generic Category Name
MillerCoors is currently running this Lite Beer ad, promoting the limited edition original can, and taking credit for inventing the light beer category, way back in 1973.
It is a great reminder that despite Miller’s determined and long-protracted litigation over its attempt to own the word LITE as a trademark for beer, in the…
The Budweiser Bowtie Can Shape Trademark
Launched a few months ago, it’s called the bowtie can, because it appears to emulate Budweiser’s well-known bowtie brand icon, but the formal description of the Anheuser-Busch beer can at the USPTO is a bit more clumsy and technical:
“The mark consists of packaging for the goods, namely, beverage package for the goods consisting
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