I see what they did there

Those packages look nothing alike (outside of the font on the brewery names). Hell, I don't think goose island even makes any 4 packs in a box. The name of a beer is being compared to the name of a brewery, which aren't the same. I guess if the word island and the color green is enough for a lawsuit, they'd win.

 

People who drink craft beer know what a Gose is. Nobody is walking into the store for 312 and mistaking the two.

 

Sophie is a 4 pack box no?

 

Business wise it makes sense to want your beer mistaken for one of the most popular beer brands in the country. Say they sell goose island at the grocery store and you don't feel like stopping anywhere for better beer and your wife asks you if you want her to pick anything up while out. You tell her goose island something or other and she grabs this. Or English as a second language person visiting Chicago and associates goose island with the city. They don't brew beer just for fun. Anything to increase sales in a crowded market helps.

 

It's pointless to continue to discuss the trademark definition of "consumer confusion" here.

Too many counter that with what boils down to "I am not confused, so therefore, no one should be."

 

At this point, we obviously aren't going to convince each other of anything, but pronunciation isn't a deciding factor here. It's safe to say that most people don't know what a Gose is and even less know how it's pronounced. Seems like most Americans don't even put the German "e" in something as familiar as Porsche. Craft brewers love their pun names, and Gose plays right into that. When a brewer releases "There Gose The Neighborhood," they are doing so knowing that the actual pronunciation of Gose will not prevent customers from getting the joke because in the context of the other words people get it. When I look at the below, I know where my mind goes.

Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose Island Gose

I don't agree with this. Perhaps you are mistaking "people on BeerAdvocate" with "people who drink craft beer." One is surely a small subset of the other. I was at an ultra-craft-centric small bottle shop/bar just a bit ago and two guys came in, asked for a sample of a Gose on tap, asked what a "Gose" was, and then realized that they were trying something sour. If they were't "craft drinkers," they never would have even opened the door.

Just for the record, I'm not claiming that Ellicottville "wants" their beer mistaken for someone else's. If they have named this beer as a wink-wink play on words (which is a very common thing in craft) then they are jokingly referencing Goose Island... and while that isn't intentionally trying to steal customers... as far as causing trademark confusion goes - it is intent enough in this case.

 

Idk, I don't see it on shelves around here. By the tone of your question, I'm going to assume it does. Whether the packages look anything alike is beyond me, but I doubt sofie has a tropical theme for packaging.

I guess in the end it doesn't matter. No one is suing anyone and none of us are truly confused by the packaging. We're all kinda arguing over nothing.

 

This has nothing to do with beer, but big name bike designer Specialized sent a cease-and-desist to a bike shop in Canada named "Roubaix", despite Specialized only having the word trademarked in the US (another company owns it intentionally, including Canada). It went no where in court and was dropped, but it still put a big hurt on the bike shop, and the reputation of Specialized. Point being, is that big companies will sometimes spring to action even with the ground is thin. I don't see how Goose Island couldn't play a legal game over this. They have the funds. Whether it's justified from a publicity, financial, or legal standpoint is up to them.

And to add to the complexity (or curiosity), this is a forum populated by people who spend an above average time discussing and researching craft beer. Not exactly the average consumer.

 

Well, they have to spend their money on something besides marketing (they sure don't spend it making good beers) Legal dept fits right in