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Blueberry Muffin Beer Not on Tap at the Trademark Office

As seen on www.craftbrewingbusiness.com:

How does a nice frosty Blueberry Muffin sound on a hot summer day? No, not the baked variety, but a blueberry muffin-flavored beer brought to you by the folks at Humboldt Street Collective LLC, dba Great Notion Brewing and Barrel House. If such a brew sounds appealing, that’s great, but you won’t be finding it under the BLUEBERRY MUFFIN trademark. And that’s because the USPTO’s Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (“TTAB”) refused to register the word mark BLUEBERRY MUFFIN, which Great Notion Brewing recently applied for. The TTAB determined that Blueberry Muffin is a generic term that should be available to describe any beer having a blueberry muffin-like flavor, and not just Great Notion Brewing’s product. But the decision is a questionable one. (Read More)

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Some Things Just Can’t Be Settled Over a Beer

The craft brewing industry is focused on its beer, not the courtroom. Indeed, the culture within the space is one of collaboration and compromise, which is why very few beer makers sue over trademark issues, In many ways, this is what makes the craft brewing space – and its product—so special. But despite the spirit of cooperation within their world, there is a time for craft brewers to throw down and litigate—or, at the very least, to issue cease and desist letters in the wake of trademark violations. The question is, when is a more aggressive stance necessary? (Read More)