Craft Beer Naming Frenzy Bumping Into Copyright

The meteoric rise of craft beers has meant a corresponding rise in the number of craft beer names, and with them a profusion of beer-related trademark disputes, according to an article in BloombergBNA. Anheuser-Busch’s opposition to Natty Greene’s Brewing Co. in Greensboro, N.C., is a recent case in point. It’s yet to be decided whether the craft brewer’s “Natty Greene’s” mark, named for Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene, will dilute or confuse Anheuser-Busch’s “Natty Light,” “Fatty Natty,” and “Natty Daddy,” which names refer back to the word “natural,” as the Notice of Opposition was just filed last month. But most of these cases are likely to be settled, the article suggests.