Craft Beer Impact – UK Beer Trademarks Up

We've recently commented on the impact of craft products on the beer market (read our article – Is craft really changing the beer landscape here) wondering what the major brewers needed to do to stay ahead of the curve.

A new report by RPC, a City based law firm, shines more light on this competition in the industry with particular emphasis on beer related trademarks.

Trademark requests are up from 1,331 in 2013 to 1,485 in 2014. With a continued surge in the production of craft beers, and more and more breweries continuing to open and produce niche products, there will be more legal infringements as companies seek to protect their portfolios.

Some examples include:

Camden Town Brewery and Norwich’s Redwell Brewery

Magners and Hogs Back Brewery

Red Bull and Redwell Brewery 

Camden Town Brewery and Weird Beard Brewery

Stout Brewing Company and Sazerac

It is clear that the industry is fierce – the consumer is partial to new, exciting beers and companies have got to make sure that their rights are fully protected. So, for the time being at least, we would expect to see a continuation of the current tensions in the beer/trademark market.