Considerations For Breweries When Applying For Trade Marks

A company's brand and reputation is often one of its most important assets and can often make or break a business. With any business it is therefore crucial that trade marks and branding are chosen carefully, registered where appropriate, and enforced against competitors where necessary.

The UK brewing industry, which includes over 2,000 independent breweries, has seen some high profile trade mark disputes in recent years. Previous blog posts have covered the importance of intellectual property to breweries and looked at some of the most public IP disputes involving breweries.

Despite the pandemic, trade mark disputes have continued, with there having been some interesting cases where breweries have applied for trade marks, only to be opposed by what may be seen as non-direct competition; specifically a distillery and a non-alcoholic drinks manufacturer.