USA: AB InBev challenging trademark application by Natty Greene’s Brewing Company

Anheuser-Busch InBev is challenging a trademark application filed by Natty Greene’s Brewing Company, a craft brewery operating out of Greensboro, N.C., Paste Magazine reported on June 27.

Natty Greene’s tried to trademark the name of their company, “Natty Greene’s” but AB InBev claimed the name falls too close to one of their own brands of beer, Natural Light. Apparently, AB InBev had previously filed trademarks for “Natty Light,” “Fatty Natty, and “Natty Daddy,” and has “sold millions of dollars’ worth of beer under the Natty marks, and has spent millions of dollars advertising and promoting its products under these trademarks.”

The insinuation here is that Natty Greene’s is going to slip in and benefit from all the hard work AB InBev put into the Natty Light brand.

Kayne Fisher, one of the co-owners of Natty Greene’s, said in an interview that the challenge is “unfounded.” The brewery is named after Nathanael Greene, a Revolutionary War Hero. Natty Greene’s application had been approved by the patent office prior to AB InBev’s challenge, but now the situation could potentially be settled in court.

02 July, 2014