POSTED BY:
Jaws
ON:
4 May 2009Not long after its failed attempt to stop use of the mark SUMMER ALE by Lion Nathan it appears that DB Breweries is throwing its weight around again.
DB has objected to use
of the term RADLER by Green Man Brewery, a small Dunedin company,
in relation to its beer. Given that Green Man's beer is in fact
made in the style known as "radler" (much like a shandy) this would
seem rather unfair.
But it gets
worse.
DB Breweries in fact
has a monopoly in New Zealand in relation to the word "radler"
despite the fact that the word is generic. Although trade mark
registrations should not be granted for descriptive terms (for
example, one trader shouldn't have the exclusive rights in
referring to "soap" as "soap") the mark was accepted for
registration by IPONZ who appears not to have identified any
problems with the mark when the application was filed in
2003.
In light of this
unfair monopoly by DB, James & Wells Intellectual Property has
offered the services of its litigation team to support the Society
of Beer Advocates (SOBA) Inc in filing an application for
invalidity against the trade mark registration for RADLER. James
& Wells Intellectual Property offered to assist Green Man
Brewery but as they had already capitulated to DB Breweries'
demands they were unable to speak on the matter any
further.
See the interview with
Ceri Wells on Campbell live here.
So, what do
you think - is DB being greedy or just taking clever
opportunities?