Left Hand Brewing seeks to trademark "Nitro"

If they added another word to NITRO I could understand this; Nitro Bottle, self NITRO, NITRO Pour, etc. The word Nitro cannot be trademarked as this has been around too long before Left Hand. Who cares about Bud, I wonder what Diageo has to say about this....

 

I have a bit of experience in the trademark process. I quick search reveals nothing in beer/wine (previous to lefthand's filing) http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:n9tp7l.2.11 Their app shows it has been approved and is published for opposition - before being final. What is interesting is that OB has 'even more recently' filed for old chub nitro (with emphasis on nitro). http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4807:n9tp7l.2.1 I think it's smart for lefthand to file. Nitro is rarely used on US beer products - due to the new technology. Good for them... Could get interesting with OB getting in the TM nitro game.
*Disclaimer...I could be wrong on any or all of the above.

If those links don't work...you can search nitro here:
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4807:alwdpw.1.1

 

I wonder if LH patented the technology? Or did they adapt it from elsewhere? That, to me, would be the crux of the situation.

 

A trademark on the word, a freaking word, and the process (patent) are two different things though. I cannot understand how people can claim to trademark a word. Unless it was Tebowing, 'cuz come on now!

 

Ya, I can understand getting a patent...but "nitro" is a bit of a stretch

 

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_25371470/left-hand-brewing-seeks-trademark-nitro-term

How about this? Personally I'm actually rooting for AB to fight it, as strange as I find that position. I think this trademark attempt takes things a little too far.

Without hating on the particular beer just 'cause it's nitro, what do you fine people think?

 

"We are not looking to take over the world and prevent people from doing certain things."

Really. I'm pretty sure that's what all this will lead to. Well, the latter part at least.

People will put all kinds of paint on a turd and try to tell you it's sprinkles on a doughnut.

 

Yeah, you'd think Diageo might be interested in opposing the Trademark, as well, seeing as they pretty much invented the process of what they call "nitrogenation" half a century ago...

 

It's not a stretch at all... Nitro is not a mark used in/on products in beer/wine. It is a very smart idea for them to get some rights to the mark. Also, I do believe I recall hearing they patented their nitro in a bottle methods.

 

I just read this and I think it's absurd. It goes to show that Left Hand has steadily been leaving the local craft mentality behind.
They might get it and it might make them some money, but that doesn't mean it isn't douche-baggy.

I would say I'd boycott them, but I rarely buy their stuff anyway. Week Sauce is about it.

 

Well you'll have to boycott oskar blues too...since they have applied for the same mark.

 

I found a case online which bears some similarities to this one:

http://openjurist.org/750/f2d/631/anheuser-busch-incorporated-v-stroh-brewery-company

It was an issue of whether or not LA (Low Alcohol) could be a protected mark. Stroh argued it couldn't:
"On appeal Stroh argues that the district court erred as a matter of law since the initials of a generic or descriptive term such as low alcohol cannot assume trademark status, since the court found itself that LA is a "category descriptor,"

The court ultimately found that it was protectable, but there was a dissenting opinion in the district court that seemed relevant:

"In this case, a major beer brewer, Anheuser-Busch, invokes federal jurisdiction seeking trademark protection for its brand name "LA". I would deny protection because its claim to the mark "LA" reflects a preemptive and anticompetitive intent to capture the emerging market for low alcoholic content beer by converting the initials of "low alcohol" (l.a.) into a trademark."

But again, since they found that "LA" for Low Alcohol beer was protectable, then maybe Left Hand has a shot at "Nitro".

 

Possibly a dumb question, but does a foreign-headquartered company like Diageo have much power over U.S. Trademarks and their establishment?

 

I'll just boycott their nitro stuff, which again I kinda do anyway.

But not really, they are trying to TM "Old Chub Nitro", not "Nitro itself". Which would still allow other companies to use the word "Nitro".

 

The same as any other business that operates in the country, yes.

 

I'm currently attempting to trademark vowels.
So long, suckers!

 

Don't do it in alphabetical order---

 

By stretch, I mean on them actually getting it. Mayb "Nitro" is the name of the beer, and not a descriptor of their milk stout. I dunno...just seems they'll have an uphill struggle in the courts over this

 

That's pretty crazy. So what, other brewers couldn't label their beers as 'nitro' beers if they choose to bottle them? That's pretty stupid.