In this week’s show, Doug and I (Tony) discuss the week’s news in beer, including trademark dustups, predictions for 2016 and large scale homebrewing (or at least we try to).
The trademark thing is kind of complex. I get how important it is, but only retroactively. If you come up with something cool, you should get to keep it. But increasingly, as people try and name dozens of beers each year, and name them creatively, people of good will bump into one another. I don’t know if there’s anymore we can do about it than discuss it.
For me, most of what I write is copyright protected, but if someone uses my ideas to make something cooler, I can’t do much more than complain. In trademarks (which don’t last nearly as long as copyrights) if there’s any element of similarity between logos, etc., people can do and have sued one another. Check out the justification in the attached story. Craft beer is a business. I get it. But as size continues to matter lot of brewers end up on the wrong side of the revolution, where we want peace, love and beer without avarice. I guess the dissenters are voicing a regret about that fact that trademarks and drinking mix.
Working through the madness
I read a bunch of stories and either they weren’t clear or I wasn’t. Even though we don’t have a ton of information about how these reverse contract breweries might work, it will be fun to speculate. It also isn’t an outrageously bad idea. Although $12 million might seem like a lot for a brewery, it is on Long Island. Where real estate is dear.
If you’re available to chime in, tell us what you think, or let us know in the comments.
Predictions
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Author: Tony Russo
Tony Russo has worked as a print and digital journalist for the better part of the 21st century, writing for and editing regional weeklies and dailies before joining the team that produces OceanCity.com and ShoreCraftBeer.com among other destination websites. In addition to having documented everything from zoning changes to art movements on the Delmarva Peninsula, Tony has written two books on beer for the History Press. Eastern Shore Beer was published in 2014 and Delaware Beer in 2016. He lives in Delmar, Md. with his wife Kelly and the only of his four daughters who hasn't moved out. Together they keep their two dogs comfortable.
