Sony sues Knee Deep Brewing over "Breaking Bud"

Right? So, there must be a reason, that us, the Peanut Gallery, is unaware of, right? I dunno, but, I don't much buy into randomness. Shrug.

 

I agree. Rename it cease and desist IPA or something to make fun of sony without infringing on their name.

 

Sure, that'll work: https://www.beeradvocate.com/search/?q=cease+and+desist&qt=beer

 

Haha, go figure. Didn't know about all that, guess I'm not so original

 

Few of us are. Damn few.

 

Good luck going to court with that defense. The helmet screams Vader. Disney owns Vader.

Enjoy

 

Of course it screams Vader, because it’s a parody (which is generally protected anyhow). But that is entirely irrelevant. It is the exact design used in Spaceballs and literally the name of the character. Disney doesn’t own Dark Helmet, MGM does.

Example: DC introduced a character named Red Tool a couple years ago. He is very obviously a parody of Marvel’s Deadpool. He looks nearly identical. If a brewery named a beer Red Tool and put his exact unaltered image on the label, Marvel couldn’t sue that brewery because the character looks like Deadpool.

 

You're right, there's always a reason..hmm maybe the Breaking Bad series is coming back

 

I recommend sunglasses to Knee Deep for their beer, like NEBCO did for Imperial Stout Trooper.

 

Old TV shows and movies never die. They go into syndication, get licensed for merchandise, have sequels made, get "re-imagined" (I hate that word... mostly since it typically involves no imagination at all...), or just get dredged up and restarted years later.

 

In the linked article, the Knee Deep CEO states Sony knew about it for years. In part;

"I was surprised by the unexpected lawsuit filed against us by Sony yesterday, especially after they originally contacted us many years ago touting their appreciation of our Breaking Bud beer that made gentle fun of their show. Shortly after Breaking Bud was introduced, in early 2015, I actually received an email from a Sony representative that said, 'It seems the Knee Deep team are big fans of Breaking Bad and we really appreciate the call out to our very popular show.' Soon thereafter I spoke with the Sony representative and we discussed the potential benefits of a formal partnership between Knee Deep and Sony but we ultimately decided not to pursue such a partnership because, among other things, our label has always been meant as a joke and not something seriously connected to the show. At no point, during those discussions, did Sony ever threaten to sue Knee Deep over the name of the beer. I’ve always been under the impression that Sony had no issue with our Breaking Bud beer since, after all, the Sony rep is the one who told me he 'appreciate(ed) the call out to our very popular show' which is hardly what one would expect from someone who thinks they can sue you for the 'call out' if you don’t pay them a licensing fee, which is what I gather they now want from us."

 

It would seem that Sony no longer feels the "juice" from this beer sideshow. And/or the powers that be got this wild hair (power move)

 

Thanks, don't know how I glossed over that. Very strange then.

 

They should do a version of that beer soured with Yogurt.

 

"Knee Deep Brewing CEO Jerry Moore on Wednesday sent The Hollywood Reporter a lengthy statement in response to the complaint, saying he thinks his customers know better than to assume an official association and Sony should be able to take a joke."

As you said...

 

Im shocked its taken Sony this long tbh. And even more shocked that Evil Genius or Bolero Snort haven't received a C&D yet. Unbullievabull.

 

Maybe call it "Better Call Lawyers"... a la Clown Shoes Undead Party Crasher (the party crasher's in this case being the lawyers)

 

Assuming KD ends up having to (ash)can their original name, why not channel Lagunitas [Censored; Undercover Shutdown] and reintroduce the awesome brew as "Bad Break?"