Katharine and her family had brewed beer for years and, through a process of trial and error, had come up with a number of unique recipes As part of the contract with MBB, Katharine was to work with MBB's brewers to create, and market a new light beer Katco Inc provided MBB's brewers with the recipe for Molly's Great Draft a recipe originally created by her Aunt Molly Katco Inc devised a marketing campaign around the new beer, shortening the brewer's name to Mickey's and promoting the beer as Mickey's Great Draft and as MGD Shortly after the launch of the campaign, MBB was served with two lawsuits Aunt Molly claims that she has patent rights to the formula for Molly's Great Draft and sues for an accounting for all profits Miller Brewing Company claims that the use of the name Mickey's and Mickey's Great Draft infringe upon its trademark registration and brand names Mickey's , Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor and Miller Genuine Draft It further claims the initials MGD are a recognized nickname of their beer and that the use of all of the names infringes its intellectual property rights MBB claims that its beer tastes significantly different from Miller Brewing Company's beer and that its marketing colours and logo are also significantly different Required Examine the legal principles and issues that will be considered as part of the lawsuits and the likely result Could MBB have avoided the problem by marketing the product as Molly's Great Draft Would Aunt Molly's consent be required

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Posted on Jul 08, 2024

Katharine and her family had brewed beer for years and, through a process of trial and error, had come up with a number of unique

Katharine and her family had brewed beer for years and, through a process of trial and error, had come up with a number of unique recipes.

As part of the contract with MBB, Katharine was to work with MBB's brewers to create, and market a new light beer. Katco Inc. provided MBB's brewers with the recipe for "Molly's Great Draft"; a recipe originally created by her Aunt Molly.

Katco Inc. devised a marketing campaign around the new beer, shortening the brewer's name to "Mickey's" and promoting the beer as "Mickey's Great Draft" and as "MGD".

Shortly after the launch of the campaign, MBB was served with two lawsuits:

Aunt Molly claims that she has patent rights to the formula for "Molly's Great Draft" and sues for an accounting for all profits;
Miller Brewing Company claims that the use of the name "Mickey's" and "Mickey's Great Draft" infringe upon its trademark registration and brand names "Mickey's", "Mickey's Fine Malt Liquor" and "Miller Genuine Draft". It further claims the initials "MGD" are a recognized nickname of their beer and that the use of all of the names infringes its intellectual property rights.

MBB claims that its beer tastes significantly different from Miller Brewing Company's beer and that its marketing colours and logo are also significantly different.

Required:Examine the legal principles and issues that will be considered as part of the lawsuits and the likely result. Could MBB have avoided the problem by marketing the product as "Molly's Great Draft"? Would Aunt Molly's consent be required?