The rock & roll multinational brewery are sticking it to the man - just one man, actually
Fiercely anti-establishment brewery Brewdog have once again stuck it to the man, by running to their lawyers to shut down a small independent Leeds bar before it's even had chance to open.
BrewDog - possibly the most rock n’ roll brand to ever brew for Tesco’s Finest range - was quick to snap up the trademark for “punk” in relation to beer, however the multinational chain’s lawyers argued that because the proposed “Draft Punk” bar would serve beer, the trademark rights were infringed.
Tony Green, the music promoter who planned to open Draft Punk said that the bar’s name was a reference to electronic group Daft Punk, but has since given up plans for the site.
BrewDog - whose 30-something founders famously invented the punk movement in 1974 - reportedly told Green that the name “could cause confusion in the marketplace” and that the bar would “take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to” BrewDog’s own brands - potentially ruining their hard-won reputation as a brewery who encourage irresponsible drinking , and exploit transphobia and homophobia for publicity.
This is the second case of BrewDog - who proudly deplore the behaviour of major corporations - using their lawyers to bully independents in just a week - previously threatening Birmingham bar The Lone Wolf with legal action after they decided to call a new product Lone Wolf, too.
The anti-”big beer” PLC - valued at around £300 million - withdrew from legal proceedings following a spate of bad publicity, with founder James Watt blaming “trigger happy lawyers” in a since-deleted tweet.
SueDog - sorry, BrewDog - currently operates two sites in Leeds, including two-storey ShuffleDog; the funds for which were crowdsourced through their “Equity for Punks” scheme. “Equity for Punks” has to date raised over £15 million through selling stakes in the company to “our shareholders, our friends, our community and the heart and soul of our business.”
The company plans to float on the stock market by 2020.
UPDATE
BrewDog owners Elvis Watt and Elvis Dickie - who changed their name to Elvis via deed poll after Elvis Presley's estate took issue with the brewery's "Elvis Juice" beer - have issued a statement on their website addressing this issue, and asking people not to steal their trademarks.
