And right on cue with our previous post regarding naming issues in the craft brewing industry! So will the craft beer industry survive and not eat each other alive?
From the article in the San Francisco Gate:
According to the complaint (embedded below), in December 2014, Lagunitas founder Tony MaGee became aware that the label on Sierra Nevada’s new Hop Hunter IPA, scheduled to be released January 15, resembled the label on Lagunitas’s flagship IPA, which the brewery first released 20 years ago. From the complaint:
The unique “IPA” lettering used in the Lagunitas “IPA” Family of Trademarks has a distinctive serif font, distinctive kerning (or letter spacing), between the “P” and the “A”, slightly aged or weathered look, with uneven areas on each of the letters, and the elimination of any periods between the letters. These elements together are unique to the iconic design of the Lagunitas IPA.
The similarities are so great, Lagunitas argues, that the new Sierra Nevada beer will either harm Lagunitas’s brand or look like a collaboration. The company is seeking a temporary restraining order against the release of Hop Hunter, as well as financial compensation.
