Brewer changes beer name after MPAA trademark request

A US brewer has changed the name of one of its beers after the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) sent it a cease-and-desist letter.

612Brew received a notice from the MPAA requesting that it stop using the name Rated R for one of its pale ale beers, with the film studio trade association citing its trademark for the term.

The brewer has since changed the name of the pale ale, which it describes as a “west coast IPA meets mid-west rye”, to Unrated.

The MPAA registered ‘Rated R’ as US trademark in 1987, covering “entertainment services rendered through the medium of motion pictures”. An ‘R’ certificate is used to identify US films that “contain some adult material”, although anyone under 17 can still watch them provided they are accompanied by an adult.

It is the second most restrictive rating after ‘NC-17’, which prohibits anyone younger than 17 from seeing a film even if they are accompanied by an adult.

612Brew did not respond to a request for comment, but its founder Robert Kasak has commented on the name change. He told the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal publication that “it’s going to take some time for people to get used to it, but it will be okay. It’s a great beer and they’ll drink it regardless of the name”.

The MPAA, which represents the six largest Hollywood film studios, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not the first time an alcohol manufacturer has been subject to a trademark dispute in recent months.

In October, Lucas Films objected to a trademark application filed by Empire Brewing for its beverage ‘Strikes Bock’.

The film company filed an opposition at the US Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, stating that the application is “virtually identical in sound, appearance and connotation” to its own trademark ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, the name of the second film released in the Star Wars franchise, in 1980.

That case hasn’t been resolved yet.