Hard rock band Guns N’ Roses has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective’s Oskar Blues Brewery. The case was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California. The lawsuit claims the Longmont-based brewery has been selling a craft ale and a variety of merchandise including hats, t-shirts, pint glasses, stickers, buttons and bandannas under the name Guns ‘N’ Rosé since 2018. The Los Angeles band claims to have registered the Guns N’ Roses name for a broad range of goods and services in the 1990s. The lawsuit asserts that Oskar Blues’ use of the moniker Guns ‘N’ Rosé is damaging to the band’s “trademarks, business reputation and goodwill.” The band Guns N’ Roses, also referred to GNR in filing documents, “has also successfully offered to sell and sold a variety of “Guns N’ Roses-branded products to consumers. This includes, but is not limited (to), clothing and related accessories such as t-shirts, hats, patches, stickers, buttons, and bandannas — an item uniquely associated with GNR and their co-founder and lead singer Axl Rose, who has famously worn bandannas for decades. This also includes items used for and related to the imbibing of alcohol including wine glasses, pint glasses, beer “koozies” (sleeves used to keep beer cans cold), and shot glasses,” according to the filing by the band’s lead attorney Jill M. Pietrini of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. The band also is claiming unspecified damages, compensation and legal costs. The band’s representative met the brewery’s CEO in December to sort out the matter, but the latter rejected the band’s claim, according to the court documents. An exchange of letters followed between the representatives of the band and the brewery without any resolution. A Jan. 22 letter from Oskar Blues’ counsel Katie Bukrinsky, an attorney with McDermott Will & Emery, stated, “Our client’s use of GUNS ‘N’ ROSÉ for beer does not infringe GNR’s marks. GNR does not own a trademark registration for GUNS N’ ROSES for beer or any alcohol beverages. GNR has not made any use of the mark GUNS N’ ROSES in connection with alcohol beverages. It thus has no rights to the mark in connection with beer or other alcohol beverages.” A March 26 letter from Bukrinsky offered to help resolve the issue to avoid costly litigation by agreeing to withdraw the brewery’s application to register the name Guns N Rosé with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, permanently cease all sales and marketing of GUNS N ROSÉ beer, clothing, and other products on or before March 31, 2020, and not to use any marks incorporating the term GUNS N ROSÉ or GUNS N ROSES in the future. The brewery’s application for registration of the name was rejected by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board on Tuesday after the band’s sustained opposition. The brewery on May 1 had filed for an express abandonment of its application. A call to Oskar Blues, and emails to attorneys of both the parties for comment were not immediately returned.<doc-sep>The lawsuit says the brewery is still selling the beer and the merchandise. LOS ANGELES — The rock band Guns N' Roses is accusing a Colorado brewery of piggybacking off their fame to sell beer and merchandise. The band filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Thursday against Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery, which sells Guns 'N' Rosé beer and merchandise and bandannas the group says are associated with singer Axl Rose. The complaint says Oskar Blues applied to trademark Guns 'N' Rosé last year and abandoned the effort after the band objected. The lawsuit says the brewery is still selling the beer and the merchandise. The band wants a court order blocking the brewery from misappropriating its name, destroying the products and turning over profits from Guns 'N' Rosé and other monetary awards. Oskar Blues marketing director Kyle Ingram did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.<doc-sep>Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LOS ANGELES — The rock band Guns N’ Roses is accusing a Colorado brewery of piggybacking off their fame to sell beer and merchandise. The band filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Thursday against Colorado-based Oskar Blues Brewery, which sells Guns ‘N’ Rosé beer and merchandise and bandannas the group says are associated with singer Axl Rose. The complaint says Oskar Blues applied to trademark Guns ‘N’ Rosé last year and abandoned the effort after the band objected. The lawsuit says the brewery is still selling the beer and the merchandise. The band wants a court order blocking the brewery from misappropriating its name, destroying the products and turning over profits from Guns ‘N’ Rosé and other monetary awards. Oskar Blues marketing director Kyle Ingram did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.<doc-sep>
(Reuters) - Guns N’ Roses is showing an appetite for litigation over a beer. Axl Rose and Slash, lead singer and lead guitarist of U.S. rock band Guns N' Roses, perform during their "Not in This Lifetime... Tour" at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 25, 2018. REUTERS/Christopher Pike - RC19DB9B0280 The rock band has sued the Colorado brewery Oskar Blues, accusing it of trademark infringement for selling an ale named Guns ‘N’ Rosé without permission. In a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, Guns N’ Roses accused Oskar Blues of intentionally trading off its goodwill, prestige and fame by selling Guns ‘N’ Rosé since early 2018, and confusing beer drinkers into thinking the band was connected with the ale. Guns N’ Roses, whose general partners include singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, also objected to sales of related goods including T-shirts, stickers, buttons and bandannas, “an item uniquely associated” with the band and Rose. The band is seeking triple damages and a halt to sales of infringing products. Oskar Blues is part of the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective. The brewery, its outside law firm and Canarchy did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for comment. According to court papers, Guns N’ Roses sued after Oskar Blues abandoned both its application to trademark “Guns N Rose” and any future use of that name or the band’s name, but said it would keep selling Guns ‘N’ Rosé beer through March 2020. Oskar Blues, based in Longmont, Colorado, has said Guns ‘N’ Rosé “bands together sticky prickly pear and floral hibiscus with a subtle hop profile.” There have been many lawsuits challenging beer names and labels in the United States, where the explosion of craft breweries can make it tough to find unique ways to sell beer. According to the Brewers Association, there were 7,346 U.S. craft breweries in 2018, up 93 percent from 3,814 in 2014. The case is Guns N’ Roses v Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 19-04052.