Anheuser-Busch and Patagonia settle beer trademark case
In 2018, Anheuser-Busch launched the beer ‘Patagonia’ under the ‘Patagonia Brewing Company’ in the US. But outdoor clothing and gear brand Patagonia filed a lawsuit against the beer giant in 2019, accusing it of ‘attempting to copy Patagonia’s famous brand identity’.
Headquartered in California, Patagonia was founded in the late 1960s and chose the Patagonia trademark to ‘call to mind romantic visions of glaciers tumbling into fjords, jagged windswept peaks, gauchos and condors’. It says its brand and logo have become ‘among the most identifiable brands in the world’.
Anheuser-Busch’s Patagonia beer logo, however, also uses the name ‘Patagonia’ beneath a mountain silhouette: while in the 2019 lawsuit Patagonia also accused Anheuser-Busch of ‘doing everything possible’ to make it appear as if the beer was sold by the outdoor equipment company.
However, on Monday [March 22] both parties filed a joint stipulation in US District Court for the Central District of California, seeking to dismiss the lawsuit after reaching a settlement on March 15.
Details of the settlement have not been made public. The 2019 Patagonia branding – as outlined in the 2019 lawsuit – remains listed on Anheuser-Busch’s site.
