Innovation Brewing, a small craft brewer in Sylva, has won a significant round in the ongoing trademark dispute with Bell’s Brewery, the big Michigan-based brewer that filed a federal action against Innovation this spring. Bell’s aimed to stop Innovation from using its name, saying that the unregistered Bell’s ad slogan “bottling innovation since 1985†could lead to confusion among beer drinkers. The slogan isn’t used on any beer packaging.
In a Sept. 5 decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled on a motion in the ongoing dispute. Here’s a snippet from the decision, and the “Opposer†referenced here is Bell’sâ€
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