Brewery naming etiquette?

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Munimula

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So Im making a hard push to get the ball rolling on a small brewing outfit.

One of the steps I set myself was a good name. I came up with one i liked and went and searched the brewers association website.

I dont want to give the full names but there is a bussiness listed with part of the name I came up with. However they are listed as "brewery in pending". They also spelled one of the words differently, in this case Nite vs Night. They also end with brewery and I am considering using "barrelworks"

For the business size I have planned we would never cross paths. They are in the midwest where as I am in the northwest.

What are your guys thoughts on this?


My apologizes on the typing. Phones and fat fingers are not friends,
 
I guess the names don't really matter at this point.


The Brewery in "planning" as listed on the brewers association is "Nite Owl Brewing" in Ohio. I can't find any website or social media presence under that name.

I'm considering something along the lines of "Night Owl Barrelworks" or "Artisan works". I do a Brett beers, sours, farmhouse style.

As for geographical. I've thought of that but have yet to come up with anything worthwhile. The brewery will be in Yakima WA if this works out. There is already a "Yakima Craft" there so kinda dodging the city name.
 
I've done some investigating into trademark and copyright scenarios similar to what you describe (for my own goin-pro daydream) and it seems pretty clear those two names would be butting heads. But it really come down to who incorporates first and registers the name with either the state or national trademark office. "Claiming" the name on a trade association website doesn't mean anything at all. Go search your state and the national trademark registries to find if your name is good.
 
I'm not a lawyer, but I think you might run into trouble down the road unless you trademark the name first.

For example, No-Li Brewery in Spokane used to be called Northern Lights. However they wanted to expand their distribution nationally but ran into naming issued with another brewery on the East Coast.
 
thanks for the insight guys. i'll run the trademarks.

any other name suggestions off what tiny bit you've seen. lol.

I'm giving myself brain fry here.
 
I don't sleep much and my mother has been calling me night owl for 20 years. I work a 5-9 like a lot of people so the only time i get to myself its around midnight.

thats the jist of why i went for night owl.
 
IMO, it's too close. If the name isn't trademarked you can, if you like, try to trademark it, but if I had a brewery in planning and someone trademarked my name away from me, I would not be happy about it.

Can you try something similar but significantly different? "Evening Who? Brewery" for example (bad example but it gets the point across).

How about something with Midnight in the name? I think Midnight Barrelworks sounds catchy.

If you choose any of the above, you owe me a beer. :) Good luck!
 
beers are always on the house.

Nocturnal brewing company, taken out of california. midnight brewing, taken out of VA, dangerously close to midnight sun out of AK who i love.

Hard to be original these days.
 
I'm a little late to the game, but I actually have some experience with this.

As others have stated, whoever trademarks the name first generally has the rights to the name (its rarely who registers with the state first). Another consideration is proximity of your type of business to other types of businesses (this is where I got sideways with another company).

I started a materials distribution company a few years ago. I searched the USPTO and a shipping company across the county had trademarked a very similar name. I figured since the two companies seemed to be completely different business types, it wouldnt be a big deal. Well, I trademarked my slightly different name and about a year later, I received a letter from the shipping company's law firm claiming trademark infringement. Apparently since I was advertising that I would ship the materials as part of the purchase price, they said I could be confused as a shipping company. Since the business was failing anyway, I just went ahead and shut it down and havent heard from them since. Did they have a case? I dont know. I didnt want to spend the money to find out since I was losing money hand over fist already.

In case you dont have it, here is the USPTO searchable database: https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-application-process/search-trademark-database

Goodluck!
 
So I have a bit of insight on this - I opened up a brewery 2 years ago in Lexington - we are using the name Ethereal Brewing. We have been shot down everytime we have tried to trademark it - because of 2 businesses that have the mark Ethereal, or are planning on having it. One is a Winery in California, the other is a Distillery out of the Northeast. The Distillery has one Gin it produces called Ethereal Gin - they do not distribute the product anywhere near us, but the Trademark Office decided our mark was just too similar, because Brewing was too generic (...) - if we wanted to get a trademark we would likely have to add a third word into the mix to differentiate it enough from the Gin (ex. Ethereal Element Brewing).
 
In Traverse City, where I live, we have Brewery Ferment. They've been open for 4+ years.

This year it was announced that Ferment Brewery, in Portland, is opening

In my opinion, Ferment Brewery didn't do their research when chosing their name. I'm not sure what legally can be done, but there's definitely a lack of tact in this scenario.
 
Thanks for the great replies guys.

Im trying to not step on any toes. Ill do a search on trademarks. I also found a contact number listed for the nite owl in planning. I guess i can always give them a call and see if its going anywhere.
 
The sail one seems silly. But its a litigious age.

Trademark search lists a night owl brewing company out of RI. So there goes that one.

Had a doodle i did of an owl with an oak barrel for the body. Came out pretty good. Maybe i can use it for a label.

Back to the drawing board. Closing on my new house in the next few weeks so i have to get that done first before i start messing with commercial property.
 
Munimula said:
The sail one seems silly. But its a litigious age.
Click to expand...
It was absolutely silly. I used to like Full Sail, but I will never drink another one of their beers again because of that.

As a native RI'er, I really like Grey Sail, and I would rather support them (better beer in my opinion). Of course, I can only get Grey Sail if I head up to RI.
 
bucketnative said:
If they are too similar, here's a situation to which you could look forward: Full Sail (Hood, OR) went after Grey Sail (Westerly, RI). I imagine that the costs of lawyers and hearings would be prohibitive for a small outfit.

http://www.thebrewsite.com/more-story-full-sail-vs-grey-sail/

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...f/2012/11/full_sail_brewing_rhode_island.html
Click to expand...

Full Sail also blocked a Virginia brewery from their first choice name, and also went on to say they would block anything with the word "sail". So they changed their name and opened as Fair Winds Brewing Company then they won Gold, Silver and Bronze at the 2016 Virginia Brewers Cup.

Branding and advertising is very important, but don't let it stop you from making good beer.:mug:
 
Many people have already made some great points, and I fully understand OP's connection to the name they want to used. I'd just like for you to consider that when choosing a business name, that when hearing the name, every Tom, Dick, and Mary will know what the business is. Barrelworks doesn't tell most that it's a brewery. If you want what you want, badly do your due diligence and make it happen first. Business isn't always nice, and the law is the law. If the name is taken do some brainstorming with trusted friends and family, you'll be surprised what great things can come from that.
 
Go for it and buy the web site name.

consider: even if you Inc. or TM first and another feels you cause them "harm" down the road and they fight you... it will cost you lawyer time.
 
Read up on "Marble Brewery" (Albuquerque, NM) vs "Marble City Brewing Company" (Knoxville, TN). 1,400+ miles apart.

In the end, the newer brewery (Marble City/Knoxville) ended up changing their name to "Saw Works Brewing Company".
 
think about some particular experience or funny incident that sticks in your mind from your night owling and maybe try to wrangle a name out of that. the more personal, nonsensical and weird it is, the better IMO.

Too many breweries have an animal and/or geographic feature in the name. I'm surprised there is not just some brewery name generator out there. [masculine adjective] + [animal/geography] = brewery

I saw some data from an article someone posted which analyzed the most common brewery names and even broke it down by certain animal types, rivers vs mountains, etc. If you have a name that really stands out, it will get people's attention more in this sea of played out brewery names
 
Trademark doesn't mean anything without establishing first use in commerce (that's the difference between a "TM" and an "R"). Even if you trademarked the name, if they beat you to the punch and can show that they were engaged in commerce while you were still holding on to an allowed trademark with no commerce usage for the immediate class, you'll loose that battle every time.
 
m00ps said:
think about some particular experience or funny incident that sticks in your mind from your night owling and maybe try to wrangle a name out of that. the more personal, nonsensical and weird it is, the better IMO.

Too many breweries have an animal and/or geographic feature in the name. I'm surprised there is not just some brewery name generator out there. [masculine adjective] + [animal/geography] = brewery

I saw some data from an article someone posted which analyzed the most common brewery names and even broke it down by certain animal types, rivers vs mountains, etc. If you have a name that really stands out, it will get people's attention more in this sea of played out brewery names
Click to expand...

I believe it. Id like something original. Just difficult to do. Seems like every good idea i come up with has 9 things already named that.

The only other thing is the name i use here and most places online for the last 10 years. Munimula. Not all that original if you know what it is. Although takes some people a minute to figure it out.
 
having been stationed out there for 3 years go w/ Yakistan brew works. Because if we were in Yakima we need a drink afterwords.

Context - the US Army has a huge training range in Yakima, its high desert and simulates parts of Iraq and Afghanistan really well. Its also cold, barren and boring as $#!+. And after being in the field for 10+ days you need a drink.

I bet every grunt in the state would buy a sixer on principle.
 
You think naming the brewery is hard, wait til it's time to start naming the beers!

Does your neighborhood have a name that could be incorporated into the brewery name?
 
SGTSparty said:
having been stationed out there for 3 years go w/ Yakistan brew works. Because if we were in Yakima we need a drink afterwords.

Context - the US Army has a huge training range in Yakima, its high desert and simulates parts of Iraq and Afghanistan really well. Its also cold, barren and boring as $#!+. And after being in the field for 10+ days you need a drink.

I bet every grunt in the state would buy a sixer on principle.
Click to expand...


Im prior service army and born in raised in the yakima area for the most part. So I fully understand that.
 

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