Beer Trademarks Soar Mirroring The Rise Of Craft Beer In The UK

trademark, Beer Trademarks Soar Mirroring The Rise Of Craft Beer In The UK

BrewDog wins trademark dispute with Elvis estate

Craft beer has caught fire in the United Kingdom. And with that comes a 20% rise in trademark registrations and the possibility of trademark disputes similar to those that have plagued the US beer industry for years.

Here’s the deal…

Craft beer in the UK is booming. Consumer demand for limited edition and small batch beer has never been higher with the number of beer trademarks in the UK doubling since 2010, according to research by London-based law firm RPC

Mirroring the growth of craft beer in the United Kingdom, trademark applications really accelerated over the last three years according to the Drinks Business.

trademark, Beer Trademarks Soar Mirroring The Rise Of Craft Beer In The UK

In fact trademark registration are at record highs in the United Kingdom with 2,372 applications being filed in 2017, up from 1,983 in the previous year. And with come the increasing possibility of brand name disputes according to an international law firm RPC.

Ben Mark, Legal Director at RPC feels that in today’s competitive beer market place brand name protection has never been more vital…

“The craft beer market has grown to a scale where some of the IP behind the brands is extremely valuable. Protecting the value of those brands is becoming increasingly important.”

And Ciara Cullen, Partner at RPC added that with consumer demand for small-batch beers and special release growing legal conflicts are almost inevitable…

“The enormous range of products now available means that beer brands are likely to overlap.”

“By ensuring that the business’ IP is protected and actively monitored and enforced from the outset this gives the business an edge on the competition in an increasingly saturated market. It can also alleviate the risk of and lengthy legal battles down the road that inevitably distract from the more exciting business of innovation and growth.

In Scotland, the number of breweries rose by 229% in 8 years to hit 115 in 2017, according to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, which goes by the intriguingly James Bond-ish acronym SPICE.

Last January BrewDog won its battle against the Elvis Presley estate after a previous ruling, which banned the Scottish brewer from calling one of its beers ‘Elvis Juice,’ was overturned. Before the first ruling, BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie both changed their names to Elvis by deed poll after the estate took legal action against them.

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