A distillery in Astoria, Oregon has been forced to change its name for a second time in two years.  Larry Cary opened North Coast Distilling in 2014, but was forced to change its name to “Pilot House Spirits” in October 2015 after a lawsuit was brought by California-based North Coast Brewing.

Fast forward a few months to January of 2016, and Cary was the subject of another lawsuit, this time from House Spirits Distilling out of Portland, Oregon.  House Spirits Distilling has registered trademark for “House Spirits.”  The two distilleries reached a settlement with Cary spending additional money to once again change the name of his establishment; this time, to “Pilot House Distilling.”

BREWERY & DISTILLERY TRADEMARKS

Cases like this show the importance of trademarks when it comes to an industry that has seen extremely rapid growth in recent years.  Creating a unique brand proves to be challenging when there are so many new businesses in a given industry.  Clearing your name from the beginning, however, will hopefully save you some money (and headaches) in the long run.  Cary stated that each name change has cost him $10,000 – $15,000, which is a significant amount of money, especially for a newer business.

START WITH A SEARCH

The best way to avoid infringement is to start the trademark process early and know where you stand when it comes to the uniqueness of your brand.  When you come up with a name you like, go online and take a look to see if you can find anyone else using it.  A search engine like Google is a good place to start, but to see whether or not something has been registered as a trademark, head on over to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) website to search the trademark database.

One thing to keep in mind when you are searching, however, is that a name does not need to be identical to bring forth a claim of trademark infringement.  Similar terms in the name may be enough, depending on the strength of the given term in the mark.  An experienced trademark attorney can help you navigate the search and offer an opinion as to whether or not you should proceed with the name you have chosen, or if it’s better to come up with a different one.  Catching potential issues early on will help you avoid spending thousands of dollars later for a rebrand.

RESERVE YOUR NAME

If you come up with a name you like, but you haven’t opened for business yet, you can still file for trademark protection.  You can essentially reserve the name with a trademark application filed under an “intent to use” basis.  It adds to the overall cost of a trademark application, but can prove to be extremely beneficial in such a rapidly growing industry.  For more information on “intent to use” applications, click here.