Choc faces lawsuit over use of 1919 name
Saw a link to this Web article today courtesy of Red Earth Brewers.
In a nutshell, Choc is being sued, accused of trademark infringement by a Minnesota soda company — New Ulm Brewing and Beverage Company — that uses the name 1919 for its root beer. Choc’s 1919, as you know, is the name of its flagship beer.
New Ulm is asking the court to block Choc from using the name 1919 and is seeking unspecified damages for trademark infringement, among other claims.
You can see a copy of the lawsuit right here.
Choc President Zach Prichard said the Krebs beer team is aware of the lawsuit and is reviewing the matter.
“We hope to reach an amicable agreement with New Ulm,” Prichard said.
You may be wondering why a Minnesota company would have to worry about what Choc was doing. There’s the catch: For a time, Choc sold its beer in Minnesota. Prichard said Choc is now out of the Minnesota market and has been for about two years.
On a separate note, this isn’t the first example of an Oklahoma beer maker facing an issue over a beer name. Mustang Brewing this year changed the name of its Mustang Session ’33 to simply Mustang ’33 after another company said the name “Session” was reserved.
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