20If you watched this year’s Super Bowl, you probably remember an Anheuser-Busch ad wherein AnB claimed that its beer is “Brewed the Hard Way” and took a shot across the bow of the craft beer industry by stating “[l]et them sip their pumpkin peach ale.” Well, less than a week after the ad aired during the game, AnB filed an “intent to use” application with the USPTO for the “Brewed the Hard Way” slogan.
Unbeknownst to AnB, a small microbrewery out of Kansas City, Martin City Brewing Company, filed an “actual use” application for a trademark for their beer, “Hard Way IPA” one day prior to AnB’s application. The USPTO has already suspended AnB’s application, pending the outcome of Martin City’s application (there is a six month window following publication of Martin City’s trademark in the official gazette during which anyone can challenge or comment on the application before the USPTO will register the mark).
Yet another example of the importance of asserting your rights in your trademark earlier rather than later, and an example of how even the small guys can win out over the giants of the brewing industry. The sooner you assert your rights, the easier it is to protect them over the long run.
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