There is a trademark dispute brewing the two beer companies Magic Hat and West Sixth. What makes this dispute unique is that it is being carried out in social media as much as the courts. Magic Hat (owner of the #9 logo on the right) accused the West Sixth logo (shown on the left) of trademark infringement in Federal court in Kentucky. In response, West Sixth launched a social media campaign directed at Magic Hat to win in the court of public opinion. West Sixth launched on on-line petition to ask Magic Hat to drop the lawsuit and stop "corporate bullying" and answered questions about the lawsuit on Reddit. West Sixth even invited Magic Hat to opine on which alternative logos would be non-infringing.
Magic Hat's response? A motion to stop West Sixth's campaign, which stated "in order to line its own pockets and promote its own brands, West Sixth set out to destroy the reputation and good will that Magic Hat has painstakingly built over the last two decades, all while portraying itself as the poor, unsophisticated victim of a trademark bully who could not get Magic Hat to return its calls. ... This carefully constructed smear campaign was cobbled together out of false statements, half-truths and misleading 'spin.'" Magic Hat complained that the campaign resulted in more than 75,000 insulting and abusive emails, negative comments on their Facebook page and pressure on Magic Hat's retail accounts to pull its beer from their taps and shelves.
My thanks to Amy Nowacoski, founder of Ginger Snap Works, for letting me know about this story.
Magic Hat's response? A motion to stop West Sixth's campaign, which stated "in order to line its own pockets and promote its own brands, West Sixth set out to destroy the reputation and good will that Magic Hat has painstakingly built over the last two decades, all while portraying itself as the poor, unsophisticated victim of a trademark bully who could not get Magic Hat to return its calls. ... This carefully constructed smear campaign was cobbled together out of false statements, half-truths and misleading 'spin.'" Magic Hat complained that the campaign resulted in more than 75,000 insulting and abusive emails, negative comments on their Facebook page and pressure on Magic Hat's retail accounts to pull its beer from their taps and shelves.
My thanks to Amy Nowacoski, founder of Ginger Snap Works, for letting me know about this story.