What is intellectual property? Well, the name of this podcast, “Taplines,” is intellectual property. The Marvel Cinematic Universe? That’s intellectual property. And, of course, the hundreds of thousands of beer labels, logos, slogans, packaging — that’s all intellectual property, too. Today, we’re talking about trademarks, at least in the general sense. After all, this isn’t a legal podcast. It’s a modern beer history podcast. But intellectual property disputes are actually fairly common in beer history, and in this episode, we’re talking about a big one.
Our guest today is Bianca Bruno, an editor of the venerable trade publication Beer Business Daily. Bruno was there, live and in person, to cover the landmark trademark trial between San Diego’s Stone Brewing Company and macro brewery Molson Coors over an allegedly infringing Keystone Light rebrand that featured the word “STONE” emblazoned across the adjunct lager’s packaging. The federal jury trial yielded a shocking verdict, and what it revealed about the state of Stone’s business would set the stage for the once vehemently independent firm’s sellout to Sapporo. Tune in for more.