I have made no secret of my love for the Brooklyn Brewery. Their Black Chocolate Stout is a perennial favorite, I’ve liked every beer of theirs I’ve tried, and brewmaster Garrett Oliver is a luminary in the brewing world.
So it was with some interest we noted this current legal kerfuffle with a supermarket.
When the C-Town supermarket in Williamsburg wanted to freshen its look in an effort “to appeal to a neighborhood that is now more hip,” as manager Jose Cruz says, it rechristened itself Billy’s Marketplace and slapped on a high-design, retro-y logo. One little problem: The new logo looks suspiciously like Brooklyn Brewery’s insignia.
New York Magazine: ‘B’ Battle Brews in Brooklyn
(via This is the Diary of Sara*)
Comical.
Brooklyn shouldn’t litigate though – what harm does this do?
Yeah, but they can’t ignore it, either.
The harm is based on the risk of people associating one business with the other and thinking they are some way connected. If a customer has a bad experience in Billy’s Supermarket it could make them less likely to buy Brooklyn beer (and vice versa, of course). I’d have a cease-and-desist letter out pretty sharpish.