January 14, 2015
What happens when a brewery claims to own the trademark rights to a particular design for the phrase “IPA”? Continue reading and find out.
On January 12, Lagunitas Brewing Company filed a lawsuit against Sierra Nevada for trademark infringement. Trademark disputes in the industry are common, but this one has resulted in some particularly heated reactions.
Lagunitas’ complaint was that Sierra Nevada used the phrase/abbreviation/word IPA (yes, “India Pale Ale”). Lagunitas did not claim to own “IPA” separate and apart from the design it uses on its labels, but it argued that Sierra Nevada’s proposed use of “IPA” on its Hop Hunter IPA in big letters in the center of its label infringed on its trademark rights for its “IPA” design mark. This is a truncated version of the argument, but you get the idea.
The lawsuit resulted in a social media outrage aimed at Lagunitas. As Lagunitas’ stated on its Twitter account, “Today was in the hands of the ultimate court; The Court of Public Opinion and in it I got an answer to my Question; Our IPA’s [trademark] has limits.” Lagunitas, a day after filing the lawsuit, said that it was going to drop the lawsuit.
This is a particularly useful example for brewers and distillers out there who are considering how to manage their trademark rights. Those trademark rights do not exist in a vacuum, but exist in the context of a particular industry with a particular set of consumers. You’ll want to consider that context whether you’re applying for your first trademark or applying for a trademark for your fifth seasonal ale. And if you want to engage in a dispute with a competitor over intellectual property, or if you’re on the receiving end of a complaint, you may want to consider how to use the dispute to build good will among consumers because these disputes can often result in benefits to both parties if they’re willing to think creatively to get them resolved.