In Part 1 we noted the growth in the craft beer industry in Canada and the U.S., and how this has spawned some interesting trademark disputes.
The case of Brooklyn Brewery Corp. v. Black Ops Brewing, Inc. (January 7, 2016) pitted New York-based Brooklyn Brewery Corporation against California-based Black Ops Brewing, Inc. in a fight over the use of the mark BLACK OPS for beer. Brooklyn Brewery established sales, since 2007, of its beer under the registered trademark BROOKLYN BLACK OPS (for $29.99 a bottle!). It objected to the use of the name BLACK OPS by the California brewery, which commenced operations in 2015.
The California brewery argued that a distinction should be made between the name of the brewery versus the names of individual beers within the product line, which had different identifying names such as VALOR, SHRAPNEL and the BLONDE BOMBER. However, this argument fell apart under evidence that the term "Black Ops" appeared on each label of each of the above-listed beers, and there was clear evidence that the California brewery applied for registration of the mark BLACK OPS BREWING in association with beer in the USPTO.
The court was convinced that use of the marks "Black Ops Brewing," "Black Ops," and "blackopsbrewery.com" created "a likelihood that the consuming public will be confused as to who makes what product." An preliminary injunction was issued barring Black Ops Brewing from selling beer using the name BLACK OPS.
Black Ops Brewing has since rebranded to Tactical Ops Brewing.
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