By Tere Dunlap
tdunlap@themonroetimes.com
MONROE - Boxer brand beer will be sold again in Monroe.
Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe and Jeff E. Moses, Monterey, Calif., owner of MBF Company in Salinas, Calif., had been locked in an ownership dispute over the rights to the Boxer trademark name since April 10, 2009.
"We reached an agreement that they (Minhas) are able to use the Boxer name in the United States, and I wish them the best of luck," Moses said Monday.
Minhas and Moses were battling for the trademark through the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The board closed the case Aug. 19, the day after Minhas withdrew its opposition to Moses' application for the mark.
Moses was poised in February 2009 to get approval for the Boxer trademark name from the USPTO. His application was approved for publication Feb. 25, 2009, and published for opposition March 31, 2009.
Minhas had held the rights to the trademark name, but USPTO canceled the mark Feb. 7, 2009, citing the company's failure to file registration maintenance documents, which the USPTO requires every 10 years for a company to keep its trademark rights.
Joseph Huber Brewery used the brand name starting in 1983, with a registered trademark issued in 1988. A trademark transfer to Minhas was not done until Dec. 6, 2008; Minhas purchased Joseph Huber in September 2006.
The cancellation then opened the way for the USPTO to process Moses' application for the Boxer name, which he submitted June 27, 2007.
Olson said "the flag came up" when a trademark lawyer for Minhas started the process to get its old Boxer label ready for sale in the U.S. On April 10, 2009, Minhas filed opposition papers against Moses' application.
The agreement allows Minhas to proceed with its new USPTO application for the trademark, meaning Moses withdrew his application.
Neither Moses nor Gary Olson, president of Minhas Craft Brewery, would disclose how much money was part of the agreement.
"I wish I could say," Moses said.
Moses said he made the agreement with Minhas, because "a trademark dispute is expensive for a very small business."
"I can't say, that wouldn't be fair to him," Olson said. "The good news is that Boxer will be available."
Without the agreement, Boxer beer "would have died," he added.
About 13,000 cases of the beer, sold in 36 packs of 12-ounce cans, will be coming off the line about Sept. 14, Olson said.
Boxer beer will reach U.S. shelves in late September, not in time for Green County Cheese Days Sept. 17 to 19, because it has to be shipped to the distribution center in Madison first, he said.
Minhas already makes a Boxer brand beer, which has been distributed and sold only in Canada since November 2007. The label for the Canadian Boxer brew has a gold crown above the name but does not include a boxing glove icon.
The U.S label and the Canadian label will be similar, Olson said.
"We are working on a box that satisfies the labeling requirement of both countries," he said.
tdunlap@themonroetimes.com
MONROE - Boxer brand beer will be sold again in Monroe.
Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe and Jeff E. Moses, Monterey, Calif., owner of MBF Company in Salinas, Calif., had been locked in an ownership dispute over the rights to the Boxer trademark name since April 10, 2009.
"We reached an agreement that they (Minhas) are able to use the Boxer name in the United States, and I wish them the best of luck," Moses said Monday.
Minhas and Moses were battling for the trademark through the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The board closed the case Aug. 19, the day after Minhas withdrew its opposition to Moses' application for the mark.
Moses was poised in February 2009 to get approval for the Boxer trademark name from the USPTO. His application was approved for publication Feb. 25, 2009, and published for opposition March 31, 2009.
Minhas had held the rights to the trademark name, but USPTO canceled the mark Feb. 7, 2009, citing the company's failure to file registration maintenance documents, which the USPTO requires every 10 years for a company to keep its trademark rights.
Joseph Huber Brewery used the brand name starting in 1983, with a registered trademark issued in 1988. A trademark transfer to Minhas was not done until Dec. 6, 2008; Minhas purchased Joseph Huber in September 2006.
The cancellation then opened the way for the USPTO to process Moses' application for the Boxer name, which he submitted June 27, 2007.
Olson said "the flag came up" when a trademark lawyer for Minhas started the process to get its old Boxer label ready for sale in the U.S. On April 10, 2009, Minhas filed opposition papers against Moses' application.
The agreement allows Minhas to proceed with its new USPTO application for the trademark, meaning Moses withdrew his application.
Neither Moses nor Gary Olson, president of Minhas Craft Brewery, would disclose how much money was part of the agreement.
"I wish I could say," Moses said.
Moses said he made the agreement with Minhas, because "a trademark dispute is expensive for a very small business."
"I can't say, that wouldn't be fair to him," Olson said. "The good news is that Boxer will be available."
Without the agreement, Boxer beer "would have died," he added.
About 13,000 cases of the beer, sold in 36 packs of 12-ounce cans, will be coming off the line about Sept. 14, Olson said.
Boxer beer will reach U.S. shelves in late September, not in time for Green County Cheese Days Sept. 17 to 19, because it has to be shipped to the distribution center in Madison first, he said.
Minhas already makes a Boxer brand beer, which has been distributed and sold only in Canada since November 2007. The label for the Canadian Boxer brew has a gold crown above the name but does not include a boxing glove icon.
The U.S label and the Canadian label will be similar, Olson said.
"We are working on a box that satisfies the labeling requirement of both countries," he said.