http://thefullpint.com/beer-news/38-degrees-blindsided-by-carlsbad-restaurant-owner/ For the lawyers out there, does 38 Degrees in Alhambra have any leverage if this were to be taken to court?
No. There are a few different Pizza Port operations (Port Brewery, Morro Bay, Disneyland). There are 2 brewers called Mother Earth (Vista and North Carolina). Using a generic term like 38 degrees doesn't give you much protection. What ever happened in the Strange Brew pissing match between Colorado and Massachusetts?
That being said, I wonder if Mike Hess Brewing Company (FKA Hess Brewing) got a "lawerly" letter from Hess Winery prompting the change?
And he couldn't come up with a better named than "Mike Hess Brewing Company"? Also, what is up with the Latin beer names? It was cute for their first six beers. Now it just gives me a headache.
According to the article the 38 Degrees guy never filed for a trademark. I don't think he has any leverage at all in court, which is probably why the other dude stole the name. (My guess is that he looked for existing businesses that are nearby, have a good reputation, and didn't bother with trademarking, and then ripped off the first he found. Of course, that might be overly cynical of me.)
As a writer employed in the entertainment marketing industry, I just can't get past some of the decisions that small breweries make when it comes to naming, labeling & marketing their individual beers. I'm sure there is a thread discussing this aspect of the business, but if people can't remember what they drank, then it makes it awful difficult for them to recommend it. Or even try it again. There is also a "what, you can't translate that" aspect to it- it would be better if they simply translated their beer names on a board or menu. Does anyone know the reasoning behind the Latin names? Is there a story that is pertinent to the business or the techniques that they use? If so, they should take advantage of that story.
