Brew Works’ Rude Elf’s Reserve: How IP Bullying Birthed The Brand That Remains 20 Years Later
One of my favorite ways that lame trademark fights end is when the victim of the bullying makes slight changes to their branding such that it pokes the bully in the eye while still getting the victim out of legal harm's way. When you couple that with the beer industry, all the more so. After all, much like everyone's most favorite SCOTUS Justice: I like beer. For example, when Voodoo Brewery found itself staring down a C&D notice from the University of Pittsburgh over its H2P IPA", the name of which was a nod to the school, the company changed the name of the brew to NON-TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT ALMA MATER IPA." Not subtle, of course, but chef's kiss all the same.
Which brings me to Brew Works, out of Pennsylvania. Brew Works is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its seasonal holiday beer Rude Elf's Reserve." The beer itself is actually a bit older than that, actually, which has to do with the origin story for its current name.
It was 20 years ago this week when The Express-Times reported that theBethlehembrewery got a cease-and-desist letter over its Rudolph's Reserve special holiday beer. Apparently, using the name Rudolph with a label depicting a reindeer with a crimson snout ran afoul of a trademark by The Rudolph Co., a subsidiary of Character Arts LLC, which demanded that Brew Works find a new name and label for the following year.
The funny part is, now it's a collector's item," the newspaper quoted Brew Works co-owner Jeff Fegley on Dec. 4, 2003, under a headline referring to a trademark brew-ha-ha."
Yup, the licensing company that manages the rights for the for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer complained via a C&D that the Rudolph's Reserve beer violated the company's trademarks. And, yes, the original copyright on the Rudolph story and character is still covered by copyright protection, having been published in 1947 after being given away for free starting in 1939 in Chicago by the Montgomery Ward's department store when an employee created the story to give to children when their parents came shopping. And, yes, all of that is completely insane, but here we are.
So twenty years ago, Brew Works agreed to change the name.
While the label was retired, the beer itself wasn't. Rudolph's Reserve became - brilliantly -Rude Elf's Reserve, a strong sipping beer still served every holiday.
Rudolph's Reserve, Rude Elf's Reserve... you get it. They're nearly phonetically identical, yet this apparently was good enough to keep Santa's trademark lawyers at bay.
And the lasting power of the beer itself has proven that a little creativity and snark can apparently go a long way. It sure would be nice, however, if we could return copyright law to the realm of the sane and not have to go through all this trouble.
In the meantime, tip one back to Rudolph, or a rude elf. It's what they would want.