Moosehead Breweries launches trademark dispute with District Brewing in Regina

A legal battle is brewing between a beer maker in Regina and one in New Brunswick.

Moosehead Breweries claims Regina-based District Brewing Company’s beer Müs Knuckle is too similar to their name and violates their trademark.

Jay Cooke, who owns District Brewing, completely disagrees, saying the company went through possible trademark violations when it came out with the brand.

“Dealing with our lawyer, he felt that it was quite safe with our play on the word Müs,” Cooke said. “There shouldn’t be any confusion in the marketplace. I mean we don’t even use imagery of a moose.”

He said the word Müs in their token premium pale lager is a made-up name for moose that plays with the German style of the beer.

The small brewery started selling Müs Knuckle beer in 2013 and has expanded operations since then. Cooke says it’s almost flattering to think that a major brewery would launch a trademark dispute now.

“They seem to pick and choose their battles, they do have a history of doing this in the past and I do take it as they do have a very strategic approach,” he said. “I think they do wait for breweries to get to a certain size or wait and see if they’re going to stick around for a while.”

Cooke said the company has two options, to either fight the legal battle or concede, but either option would be very expensive.

Moosehead Breweries has not responded to News Talk Radio’s request for comment on the legal dispute.