Help West Sixth Brewing against lawsuit

All,

West Sixth Brewing ( out of Lexington) is being threatened for trademark infringement in what seems a nuisance suit. This kind of thing can put a small business under. Read about it here:
http://www.westsixth.com/no-more-magic-hat/?age-verified=c9f923e346
Then sign the petition if you agree.

Let's support our Kentucky microbrewers!

Deb

I was just going to post to this and then I saw your thread. Everyone needs to sign the petition, whether they are beer drinker or not!

I don't know man. The logos are remarkably similar.

http://i.imgur.com/Znpvdj7.jpg

I'm normally in favor of the little guy, but this would be a little too close for comfort if it was my company.

I don't know man. The logos are remarkably similar.

http://i.imgur.com/Znpvdj7.jpg

I'm normally in favor of the little guy, but this would be a little too close for comfort if it was my company.

Yeah, I'm seeing it too...the way I look at it, if ya didn't actually make any money (as they claim) then why not just change the darn logo. I mean Christ on a crutch, if it'll save ya from having to go to court just whip up a new piece of art and be done with it.

One uses a 9 and a #. The other a 6. Both use circles. I do not see the similarities. Also, not so easy to just whip off a new logo. Have you ever priced logo design? It ain't cheap.

One uses a 9 and a #. The other a 6. Both use circles. I do not see the similarities. Also, not so easy to just whip off a new logo. Have you ever priced logo design? It ain't cheap.

Actually, it looks like the circle is an essential part of West Sixth's logo, but not Magic Hat's. Seems like most of the similarity lies in the typeface of the numerals, which is close but not identical. I wouldn't think that would be enough to get West Sixth in trouble in court, especially combined with other distinct features (like the circle and the brewery's name), but I could be wrong.

Ditto Will. And it's not just logo design. You have to re-do all marketing materials, packaging, etc. That can be very expensive.

The picture posted is Magic Hat's #9 product- pictured upside down., not their corporate logo. I don't buy the infringement either. Have you ever seen these? - they are even more similar and not infringing. http://www.logodesignlove.com/similar-original-logos

Deb

If you have to turn it upside down, be color blind (in the case of the main W. 6th logo) and not know the difference between a star and # there is no infringement. I think Magic Hat will not be happy with the outcome, especially the social media explosion that is going on. Remember "United breaks guitars"?

Ditto Will. And it's not just logo design. You have to re-do all marketing materials, packaging, etc. That can be very expensive.

The picture posted is Magic Hat's #9 product- pictured upside down., not their corporate logo. I don't buy the infringement either. Have you ever seen these? - they are even more similar and not infringing. http://www.logodesignlove.com/similar-original-logos

Deb

Yeah but those are different industries. This is another beer which is probably why they decided to pursue it.

Also you're right about the packaging and marketing, but I gotta disagree about the cost of a logo design. Its a few hundred bucks. They could probably even make it similar to the existing, just get rid of the star and use a different font.

I don't know...I don't drink magic hat anyway, so I'll keep on not drinking it for West Sixth.

Here is another similar logo listing:
http://www.logodesignlove.com/similar-original-logos

I am guessing that the parent company for Magic Hat has some ambitious lawyers working for them, and brought the lawsuit idea about. I suppose it is possible that they really feel West Sixth is doing harm to their brand but as big a company as they are (they are a subsidiary of Florida Ice & Farm co., who is a subsidiary of Heineken http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Ice_%26_Farm_Co.), I doubt they are very worried about a small brewery in Lexington KY.

Ditto Will. And it's not just logo design. You have to re-do all marketing materials, packaging, etc. That can be very expensive.

The picture posted is Magic Hat's #9 product- pictured upside down., not their corporate logo. I don't buy the infringement either. Have you ever seen these? - they are even more similar and not infringing. http://www.logodesignlove.com/similar-original-logos

Deb

Also the lawsuit is regarding the #9 beer, not their corporate logo.

Here is the actual legal letters that were sent...pretty interesting

http://www.scribd.com/doc/142860493/Mag ... th-Brewing

Lots of letters at big$$. What a waste. I know for a fact that Stites and Harbison charges $360 per hour for this kind of stuff.

they are starting to get the message. From FB:

Magic Hat Brewing Company
40 minutes ago
We’d like to thank our fans out there who have offered their support over the last day or so. It is great to see that because of your support West Sixth is now willing to revisit the areas they previously agreed to in an effort to find a resolution. We will be reaching out to them to discuss directly rather than engage in any more back-and-forth on social sites. Thanks again for your support.
1Like · · Share
274 people like this.

12,000+ have signed West 6th's petition, I think Magic Hat is beginning to get the message....

This is an interesting way to address a legal issue. Costs nothing and the court of public opinion is very valuable.

I bet west sixth sales will be incredible in the short term.

they are starting to get the message. From FB:

Magic Hat Brewing Company
40 minutes ago
We’d like to thank our fans out there who have offered their support over the last day or so. It is great to see that because of your support West Sixth is now willing to revisit the areas they previously agreed to in an effort to find a resolution. We will be reaching out to them to discuss directly rather than engage in any more back-and-forth on social sites. Thanks again for your support.
1Like · · Share
274 people like this.

12,000+ have signed West 6th's petition, I think Magic Hat is beginning to get the message....

The people at West 6th were complaining that they could not get a response back from Magic Hat except for social media. It looks like the bashing that Magic Hat is taking publicly might be taking a toll if they are willing to communicate outside of Facebook.