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Earlier this week, you may recall that
Lagunitas filed a lawsuit against Sierra-Nevada ostensibly for copyright infringement on the kerned letters "IPA" on a label. A day later, Lagunitas founder Tony Magee announced that the brewery was dropping the suit.
But boozemakers seem mighty litigious these days. Now Kendall-Jackson winery has sent a cease and desist to owners of the small Cambria Beer Company on the North Coast for having the gall to name their brewery after the town where they live — a name that the winemaking giant has trademarked.
Kendall-Jackson, based in Santa Maria, has a trademark because of its sister winery, Cambria Estate wines; anyone who uses the name "Cambria" in relation to alcohol is in violation of it.
Instead of spending the approximately $50,000 to fight the order in court, the Cambria Beer Company is electing to change their name, and crowdsourcing potential new ones.
Though, the brewery's owners say, they are making sure to comb through trademark lists first.
Update 9:52 a.m.: An earlier version of this story said that Kendall-Jackson was suing the brewer. They have only sent a cease and desist. SF Weekly regrets the error. A spokesperson from the winery offered this statement:
We have tried very hard to work with the brewery on a solution that would allow them to keep doing business as they have been since they adopted the name – a solution that would not cost them a penny. It was the brewery’s choice to instead find a new name, one that they themselves can trademark and protect.
[GrubStreet via The Cambrian]
