Lucasfilm is currently in a trademark dispute with a beer company. Lucasfilm is attempting to prohibit Empire Brewery Company from getting a trademark for “Strikes Bock” as the name of a signature beer that the brewery has sold for the last seven years. Empire Brewery Company is seeking a trademark so that it can bottle and sell its beer in stores. Empire Brewery named their beer as a “clever pun” referencing the 1980 Star Wars movie “Empire Strikes Back.” According to Monica Palmer, Empire Brewery Company’s director of marketing, the company was “just trying to make a nice beer with a funny name.”

The attempted trademark of “Strikes Bock” is not so funny to Lucasfilm, which filed a notice of opposition against the Syracuse, New York based company. Lucasfilm claims that the filing could confuse people into thinking that the beer is related to the Star Wars franchise – one of the most profitable brands.

At this point, it is too soon to tell whether “Strikes Bock” will be coming to stores near you anytime soon.

Sources: http://money.cnn.com/2014/10/23/media/star-wars-beer/ http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/25/lucasfilm-disputes-trademark-for-empire-strikes-bock-beer

For more information on this topic, please visit our trademark litigation service page.

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