Cerveceria Costa Rica (Magic Hat) Suing West Sixth Brewing

Their website won't load for me. Edit: finally.

For comparison



Commence with the fake innernet legal speak.

 

Magic Hat shouldn't worry - nobody will ever confuse #9 with beer.

 

I am bringing a suit against Magic Hat for making poor "crafty" beer.

 

West Sixth is a great company who is very involved in the community (also, their beer is DELICIOUS). Although the lawsuit is frivolous and petty, the point is to financially damage West Sixth as much as possible.

This is not the first time that Magic Hat has taken on a TRUE craft brewery, either. http://seattlebeernews.com/2010/06/...wn-to-rename-9lb-porter-to-georgetown-porter/

Please support local beer, and sign the petition! (It's getting so much traffic, it might take a while to load)
http://www.westsixth.com/no-more-magic-hat/

(As with the above poster, I have no stake in the issue and am not affiliated with West Sixth.)

 

Although there are certainly some similarities between the two logos, I can't see how this would stand-up in court. Does Magic Hat simply own all logos with a circular design incorporating the number nine AND the number six? The thing is, West Sixth doesn't need to be spending money on frivolous lawsuits only one year removed from their Grand Opening. Typical BS from a big box brewery. West Sixth makes a fantastic IPA. Hopefully, they will continue to grow as quickly as they have been without sacrificing quality, so they can afford to fight this BS.

 

Their website has crashed several times as people have flooded it to sign the petition. Just keep trying. This is an easy way to stand up for what is right.

 

I sell beer in two different businesses, restaurant and C-store. I'll let my distributor know that I will no longer carry Magic Hat.

 

Where did you come up with that?

 

They are not just asking West Sixth to change their logo, Magic Hat is also demanding all of their profits up to this point. If the lawsuit isn't dropped, and West Sixth fights it in court, that's also not going to be cheap, especially for a company that just had its first birthday.

 

I can say that I have never confused the two logos.

Then again, Ive never shopped for beer while standing on my head, which is the only way they are even remotely similar.

 

I will see that if West 6th was using a NINE and they werent located in a location that using a nine would make sense, like West 9th street in Lexington, then this lawsuit might make sense.

But as every 6 is an upside down 9, and the logo isnt really similar in color or smeariness, then I dont see it. But Im not a lawyer.

And as their name involves a 6, the logo is, of course, going to involve a six.

 

Can you also post it with the West 6th logo right side up? I only ask because I think that is a fairer comparison (or contrast).

 

courtesy of google:

 

If the brewery were East 9th and were using the logo in the picture, then I think they'd have a point. As it is, it's a stretch to say the least.

The telling feature of this story, and what sets it apart from the myriad trademark squabbles that we've seen between craft breweries over the years, is the addition of the lawsuit seeking monetary damages. From reading West 6th's account, it doesn't sound like they received a cease-and-desist ahead of time giving them the option of rebranding and avoiding court costs.

Magic Hat's corporate overlords just went straight for the jugular.