The Route 66 Junkyard Brewery in Grants, New Mexico, is being sued by a European firm that claims to own the “Route 66” trademark and name for its beer.
Because Henry Lackey’s Grants brewery is on a junkyard on Route 66, he wants to keep the name and vows to fight the suit from Lodestar Anstalt, a Liechtenstein company that contract-brews a Route 66 Beer in Wisconsin.
According to KRQE-TV in Albuquerque:
According to the lawsuit, Lode Star owns the Route 66 trademark for any beverage-related product.
“We asked him if he’d be willing to change his name to ‘Junk Yard Brewery located on Historic Route 66.’” said Lode Star attorney’s Warren Bleeker. “That would have solved the problem.”
In his answer to the lawsuit, Lackey said allowing an overseas company to trademark Route 66 is like allowing a New Mexico corporation to trademark the Eiffel Tower.
“So for a European company that wasn’t even doing business in the U.S. to trademark the name and sue me for using the street I’m on, I think is ridiculous,” Lackey said.
A copy of the lawsuit may be read here; Lackey’s response is here.
In the suit, Lodestar specifies it has registered a “Route 66” shield logo and name for its beer in the United States as far back as 2009. Route 66 Junkyard Brewery didn’t open until last summer.
Lodestar claims Route 66 Junkyard Brewing stole its trademark and name. There is a passing resemblance, but it also looks like a zillion other Route 66 shields out there. Here’s Route 66 Beer’s logo:
“Lodestar has been damaged by Defendants’ trademark infringement by reason of the likelihood that customers, potential customers, businesses, retailers, and distributors are likely to be confused as to the source or affiliation, sponsorship or approval of Junkyard Brewery and/or Lodestar’s products and services,” the lawsuit states.
Lodestar is demanding a permanent injunction, plus all of Route 66 Junkyard Brewery’s profits and triple damages. A jury trial is set for spring.
In his response, Lackey affirms “fair use” — his brewery is on Route 66, so naming itself after it is an accurate description.
Lackey also claims Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. in Moriarty, New Mexico, is making a Route 66 beer, but no such beer is found on its website.
Lackey claims Lodestar is based in Cypress, does no business in New Mexico, is not registered as a business in New Mexico and subsequently has suffered no injury.
Lackey seems to be on firm legal ground here. According to Route 66 Beer’s map, its brew isn’t distributed outside Europe. And Route 66 Junkyard Brewery doesn’t bottle or can its beer, so you probably can’t even get it outside of Grants. Their markets aren’t remotely infringing on each other.
The response then states:
“This Corporation should not be allowed to use an iconic name, ‘Route 66’ as a trademark because it contributed nothing to what makes ‘Route 66’ great to all Americans. By its own admission in its website, ‘Route 66’ is the most famous highway in the world. It is like allowing a New Mexico Corporation to trademark the ‘Eiffel Tower’ and allowing the New Mexico corporation to sue a business in Paris situated next to the Eiffel Tower for using the Eiffel Tower name in its business name.”
One defense Lackey failed to use is “Route 66” and the Route 66 shield are in the public domain in the United States and are not subject to copyright or trademark. Other lawsuits in the U.S. failed for that reason. “Route 66” and the shield are trademarked in Europe, but since Route 66 Junkyard Brewery isn’t shipping beer there, it isn’t a problem for it.
Perhaps Lodestar altered its logo just enough to get it trademarked in the U.S., or perhaps the U.S. trademark office approved it in error. But the trademark facts about “Route 66” and its shield are enough to show Lodestar stands on shaky ground legally.
UPDATE: The Associated Press has picked up the story, which means it’s being distributed worldwide.
(Image of Route 66 Junkyard Brewery via Facebook; screen-capture image of Route 66 Beer from its website)
As far as the Route 66 shield goes, Lode Star didn’t create that image and therefore has no copyright claim, as I understand it. If anyone has any claim, it was the US Bureau of Public Roads and its legal corporate successor, the Federal Highway Administration. Also, words in common English usage cannot be copyrighted, for the same reason that you cannot copyright the alphabet: they are common cultural property, so words like “Route” and “66” cannot be copyrighted. Pizza Express had to change its name to “Pizza X” for that reason. This is another example of how so-called “intellectual property rights” are used as a money grab that straitjackets those of us who cannot afford expensive lawyers and legal fees. This is one of the uglier aspects of globalization.