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I'd heard about this case[/url:5tr51gs7] but never knew the details until this afternoon, when I happened across the judgment while doing something else.

Rookie mistake no. 1: Going, as a microbrewer, to Guinness and asking them if they'd like to distribute your beer for you.

Reading between the lines, the business seems to have had many more problems than the legal issue at hand, so I don't think it was just this that scuppered them.

Oh, and look out for the vintners hanging the microbrewer out to dry in paragraph 22. Today's Guinness delivery: forty kegs and thirty pieces of silver.

I don't know, while i had trouble reading the "legalese" I thought it said that Guinness just had a claim against the name Killkenny being used anywhere near a beer brand. (Different matter for argument there <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->)

I thought it read that they'd leave it be once they changed the name?

&amp;quot;rmck1&amp;quot;:3mt225uu wrote: I thought it said that Guinness just had a claim against the name Killkenny being used anywhere near a beer brand.[/quote:3mt225uu]Yep, that's the height of it.

&amp;quot;rmck1&amp;quot;:3mt225uu wrote: I thought it read that they'd leave it be once they changed the name?[/quote:3mt225uu]I'm sure the cost of fighting this in the High Court wouldn't have helped, as a start-up brewery with no income as yet. But it does look like the bad luck/disorganisation as regards the pub side of it was a major factor in the project going under.

&amp;quot;TheBeerNut&amp;quot;:1ul6s6ez wrote: I'm sure the cost of fighting this in the High Court wouldn't have helped, as a start-up brewery with no income as yet. [/quote:1ul6s6ez]

Very true. And while I'd like to side with the small new brewwery (we need more) the name argument is at the very least predictable and the costs of fighting it in court is obvious, by which I mean, most people with limited capital would avoid the courts unless absolutely sure they'd win.

&amp;quot;rmck1&amp;quot;:3osdkvwh wrote: the name argument is at the very least predictable[/quote:3osdkvwh]I disagree. As far as I'm aware you can't usually trademark things like proper names. I think they had a case and were right to fight it, though maybe not in hindsight.

Unfortunately sometimes it is not about being right. And if they had won we would be celebrating the little guy beating the bigger guy.

Interestingly I think some would celebrate them winning even if they were wrong for the same reason...

Unless of course they made crap brew!