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First we’re surprised that this lawsuit wasn’t lodged sooner and also that Anheuser-Busch, home to Budweiser, wasn’t also a participant.
Here’s the deal…
According to the Hollywood Reporter Sony Pictures Television filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Knee Deep Brewing over the brewer’s Breaking Bud IPA claiming the company intentionally imitated the Breaking Bad logo and other design elements in order to capitalize on the fame of the AMC hit series.
Sony is suing for trademark infringement, dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition, among other claims, and is basically seeking an injunction to stop the Ashburn, California Brewery from using “Breaking Bud” and the current design and logo and damages.
Breaking Bud is Knee Deep’s best-selling beer, according to the Sacramento Business Journal, and earned the bronze medal for American IPAs at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival.
Updated 4/19
Knee Deep CEO, Jerry Moore responds to the Sony lawsuit via a social media post
From our CEO, regarding our friends at Sony:
I was surprised by the unexpected lawsuit filed against us by Sony yesterday, especially after they originally contacted us many years ago touting their appreciation of our Breaking Bud beer that made gentle fun of their show. Shortly after Breaking Bud was introduced, in early 2015, I actually received an email from a Sony representative that said, “It seems the Knee Deep team are big fans of Breaking Bad and we really appreciate the call out to our very popular show.”
Soon thereafter I spoke with the Sony representative and we discussed the potential benefits of a formal partnership between Knee Deep and Sony but we ultimately decided not to pursue such a partnership because, among other things, our label has always been meant as a joke and not something seriously connected to the show. At no point, during those discussions, did Sony ever threaten to sue Knee Deep over the name of the beer. I’ve always been under the impression that Sony had no issue with our Breaking Bud beer since, after all, the Sony rep is the one who told me he “appreciate(ed) the call out to our very popular show” which is hardly what one would expect from someone who thinks they can sue you for the “call out” if you don’t pay them a licensing fee, which is what I gather they now want from us.
Breaking Bud is one of our more successful beers, and I think our customers appreciate that the quirky label is a joke. No one has ever thought the joke meant we were endorsed by Breaking Bad. We are a small brewery and I don’t appreciate the distraction, not to mention the expense of having to deal with something that should have been addressed 3 years ago if Sony really had an issue with it.
At the end of the day, the quality of the beer is what has made Breaking Bud popular and we should all be able to take a joke
