Utah
Becker Brewing descendants sue Ogden brewery for using their name and brand
A screenshot from a lawsuit filed in opposition to Ogden River Brewing and Lotus Craft. The good-granddaughter of a historic Ogden brewer is suing for what she says is unauthorized use of her household’s identify and trademark. (U.S. District Court docket)
Estimated learn time: 7-8 minutes
OGDEN — Karen Becker Edson was strolling into the Ogden River Brewing restaurant a few years in the past when she seen a plaque exterior the constructing.
It claimed that the restaurant stood on the precise location that Becker Brewing as soon as stood. Because the great-granddaughter of John Becker, one of many authentic founders of Becker Brewing, Edson stated she knew this was incorrect, and he or she talked about it to an worker within the bar space.
She additionally seen a big picture of her great-uncle, Gustav Becker, sitting with three different Beckers. Edson thought it was odd that Ogden River Brewing had an image of her members of the family, “however didn’t notice there was trigger for concern at the moment,” she says in a brand new lawsuit.
It wasn’t till July 2021, when Edson and her household went to the Ogden River Brewing restaurant for dinner that she grew to become involved. The plaque nonetheless hung exterior the constructing, and the picture of her household was nonetheless inside. Then Edson spoke with a supervisor, who instructed her that Ogden River Brewing would quickly start making Becker’s Finest beer.
Edson did not know the way this was doable, since she’d by no means given anybody permission to make use of her household’s identify or branding. Upon being seated, she seen that the menu provided “Becker’s Finest Fish n’ Chips” in a font just like what Becker Brewing as soon as used on its beer labels, the lawsuit says.
This expertise was the catalyst for Edson and her daughter, Erin Ruzek, to start investigating domains, trademark filings and social media pages. Ruzek spoke with the CEO of Lotus Craft, the registered agent for Ogden River Brewing. Edson’s attorneys despatched a stop and desist letter, then a second letter after they say the primary one went unanswered.
Lastly, Edson took her grievances to court docket.
On Dec. 16, Edson filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court docket in opposition to Ogden River Brewing and Lotus Craft alleging false designation of origin, false endorsement, abusing a private identification, violation of frequent legislation proper of publicity and false promoting.
The federal lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, together with defendants’ income, legal professional charges, as much as thrice the quantity of the plaintiffs’ damages “and additional aid because the court docket deems simply and correct.”
The lawsuit explains how Edson found her household’s identify and model are getting used, and compares images of Becker Brewing branding with Ogden River Brewing branding.
Court docket information present Ogden River Brewing and Lotus Craft have till Jan. 10, 2023, to reply. District court docket information don’t at present checklist any attorneys for both firm, and neither instantly responded to requests for remark.
The Becker Brewing model
A lot of the go well with is devoted to establishing Becker Brewing’s lengthy historical past in Utah and its impression on Ogden, specifically. John Becker immigrated to the U.S. from Germany within the late 1850s, it states, and opened a brewery with a companion in Minnesota.
John Becker’s oldest son, Gustav, then traveled to Ogden in 1890 with companion William Schellhas and opened the Schellhas Brewing Firm. Two years later, John Becker and his youngest son, Albert, arrived in Ogden and the Beckers took over your entire operation, renaming it Becker Brewing and Malting.
What adopted was a long time of being “probably the most profitable of all of the Ogden breweries, if not all Utah breweries,” the lawsuit says. “Becker Brewing is the one brewery in Utah to have operated earlier than, throughout and after Prohibition. It was open longer than every other Utah brewery, staying in enterprise for 75 years and persevering with to function in a restricted capability for a number of years thereafter.”
Becker Brewing closed its doorways in 1962 resulting from competitors from giant nationwide breweries, the lawsuit states, however the Becker household did not promote the buildings till the early Nineteen Seventies. They have been finally demolished in 1984.
“Nonetheless, the Becker identify and the Becker model proceed to reside on within the hearts and recollections of Utahns,” the lawsuit states. For example, Utah State College holds an “spectacular assortment” of Becker images and memorabilia; collectors nonetheless seek for Becker-related merchandise on websites like eBay; and snowboarding websites like Becker Face and Snowbasin’s Becker Carry are nods to the Becker household’s position in selling the game.
In response to the go well with, Lotus Craft “purports” to personal the next marks:
- Becker’s Finest
- Becker’s Premium Lager Firm
- Becker’s Premium Lager Co.
- Out West It is Beckers and design
- Becker’s Mellow
A trademark search on the US Patent and Trademark Workplace web site reveals that Lotus Craft utilized for the primary three marks (Becker’s Finest, Becker’s Premium Lager Firm and Becker’s Premium Lager Co.) between November 2019 and September 2020, however every submitting was subsequently deserted between November 2022 and December 2022.
Quoting from the US Patent and Trademark Workplace’s rejection of considered one of Lotus Craft’s makes an attempt to register these marks, the go well with states that the corporate “has co-opted a model it alleges was deserted to the general public area and seeks to commerce on the remaining, if any, goodwill and nostalgia that was probably generated by the unrelated third-party proprietor.”
The opposite two listed marks (Out West It is Beckers and design; and Becker’s Mellow) have been filed for by Lotus Craft in September 2020, then “revealed for opposition” between August 2022 and September 2022. Each marks are at present listed as “reside.” The go well with states that Lotus Craft was allowed to register these marks and that Edson’s attorneys have filed for extensions of time to oppose these purposes.
It additionally alleges that Ogden River Brewing has used no less than three of those “misappropriated” marks straight on cans of beer: Becker’s Finest, Becker’s Premium Lager Co. and Out West It is Beckers. These beer cans are marketed on Ogden River Brewing’s social media platforms and offered at brick-and-mortar places in Utah, the lawsuit states.
These cans bear a “hanging resemblance” to cans of Becker’s Finest manufactured by Becker Brewing within the Nineteen Forties, the lawsit says, from the fonts to the brand’s defend form to the usage of the “Becker Brewing goose.”
Ogden River Brewing’s label even states, “Based in 1892 alongside the banks of Utah’s Ogden River and stood for 75 years as one of many longest working breweries within the West. Proudly introduced again by our household of brewers.”
The go well with continues that there are not any collaborations between the Becker household and Ogden River Brewing or Lotus Craft, and that the Becker household has not been compensated in any method for the usage of their identify and model.
“Due to defendants’ unauthorized use of the misappropriated Becker marks, plaintiff not has any capability to revive the Becker model at the side of her personal use of the model, authentic licensing, and/or joint collaboration in return for compensation, one thing plaintiff has thought-about doing,” the lawsuit states.
Bringing again Becker?
The go well with additionally emphasizes that Ogden River Brewing head brewmaster Pat Winslow hasn’t been shy about how he is drawing from Becker Brewing branding. For example, the go well with references a 2017 Fb submit through which Winslow wrote that Ogden River Brewing will “carry again the spirit of Becker Brewing with a dedication to superior and regionally sourced substances, craftsmanship and group. … I plan to honor the Becker household with beers and hand-crafted drinks named after the founders and characterize Becker’s contribution to the craft and group within the taproom’s décor.”
In one other instance, the go well with references November 2017 Instagram posts on the Ogden River Brewing Instagram account which state issues like, “We’re bringing native beer again to Ogden!” and “Channeling the spirit of Becker Brewing for this.”
Moreover, the go well with outlines how Edson and Ruzek tried working straight with Ogden River Brewing and Lotus Craft earlier than going to court docket. Ruzek spoke with Lotus Craft CEO Brian Wrigley over the cellphone in July 2021, it states, expressing concern about how her household’s identify and model have been getting used. Wrigley instructed Ruzek that they’d tried to contact her household, however the one makes an attempt Ogden River Brewing ever made to contact the Beckers have been by way of two Fb posts on the corporate web site, asking anybody who is aware of the Beckers to please put them in contact with the corporate, in accordance with the lawsuit.
It continues that Wrigley instructed Ruzek that his firm “made the idea Becker’s Beer had ‘died off’” and so they “needed to ‘honor it.’” Ruzek requested that Ogden River Brewing cease utilizing the Becker identify, however says the defendants didn’t achieve this.
Edson’s attorneys subsequent despatched a cease-and-desist letter to Wrigley in August 2021, the lawsuit continues, which Wrigley didn’t reply to. A second letter despatched in September 2021 was met with “‘three choices to cooperate with the Becker’s household representatives,’ none of which consisted of cessation of use of the Becker identify,” it states.
“Defendants demonstrably knew they wanted permission from a Becker member of the family to make use of the misappropriated Becker marks, however when that permission was not obtained, (they) proceeded to make use of the misappropriated Becker marks anyway,” the lawsuit states.