Canada: Mountains come between Molson Coors and Labatt beers

The use of iconic mountain images in beer ads has added another chapter to Canada’s recent beer disputes. Molson Coors Brewing Company has launched a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in federal court against Labatt, saying the mountain imagery on their new ads for Labatt's Kokanee beer infringes on the copyrighted images Molson uses on some of their products, Canadian Press communicated on September, 20.

The new Kokanee graphic looks too much like the one portrayed in the background of Coors Light products, Molson Coors claims, seeking C$10 million in damages.

But Jamie Humphries, marketing director for Kokanee, said the lawsuit came as a surprise because the mountains have been part of the Kokanee brand for four decades.

Humphries says the new graphic is the same Kokanee Glacier that the beer is named after.

He says the brewery is confident they're on the higher legal ground.

23 September, 2009