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27 November 2020TrademarksRory O'Neill

Brewdog loses TM dispute over ‘Doghouse’ beer hotel

UK beer company Brewdog can’t register the logo for its “Doghouse” hotel brand as a trademark, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has ruled.

The IPO approved registration of the “Doghouse” mark only for a limited range of goods and services, including live entertainment and consultancy services.

But the IPO refused registration of the mark for brewing services and hotel accommodation after opposition from Doghouse Distillery, a London-based gin maker.

Brewdog filed for the mark last June, two months after it announced it planned to open a London branch of The Doghouse, which it calls the “world’s first craft beer hotel”.

Brewdog operates a hotel under the name in Columbus, Ohio, which includes a craft beer museum and in-room taps for purchasing draft beer.

The brewer said in April 2019 that it was searching for a London location for The Doghouse, which it promised to be “nothing short of the ultimate hotel for craft beer geeks”.

These plans may have been complicated by the ruling of the IPO, which says Brewdog’s applied-for logo is conceptually “identical” to that of Doghouse Distillery.

According to the IPO, “hotel accommodation services” and “temporary accommodation services” in the Brewdog’s application overlapped with “pubs and bars” covered by Doghouse’s mark.

“While they are not competitive, there is a degree of complementarity in the services given the increasing blurring of the distinction between hotels and pubs in what facilities they offer,” the IPO decision said.

According to the IPO, consumers were likely to think the services covered by the two marks came from the same company.

“The differences that exist between the marks will be seen as symptomatic of a brand variation,” the decision said.

Brewdog was ordered to pay £271 in legal costs to Doghouse Distillery.

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