Moosehead hunts down victory in trademark infringement suit
Canadian beer company Moosehead has won a trademark infringement suit surrounding Moose Wizz, a soda produced by US-based Adirondack Pub & Brewery.
Moosehead filed a lawsuit in March last year ( amended in June 2015) at the US District Court for the Northern District of New York against Moose Wizz, claiming that the products’ logos were highly similar.
It claimed that Moose Wizz’s root beer products are so similar, in labels and packaging, that it created a likelihood of confusion. Both logos feature a moose head although Moosehead's logo uses a more life-like moose while Moose Wizz uses a cartoon moose.
Moosehead added that it would “be damaged and irreparably harmed by reason of the loss of control over its reputation and the erosion of its goodwill in the Moosehead registered marks”.
On August 26, a jury decided in Moosehead’s favour, awarding it $8,800 in damages.
Federal Court Judge Norman Mordue will decide at a later date “whether to prohibit Moose Wizz from continuing to use the name and the depiction of a moose’s head on its label, as Moosehead has demanded”.
Moosehead has used the ‘Moosehead’ trademark since 1931 in connection with ale, beer, stout, porter and lager.
