From Lucette Brewing:
Recently a federal lawsuit was filed against Lucette Brewing Company regarding Lucette’s THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER blonde ale brewed with spices, and we at Lucette would like to provide some simple facts regarding our brand.
First some facts about Lucette. Lucette is the sweetheart of the mythical character Paul Bunyan. We chose the name Lucette Brewing Company when we began business in 2009, paying homage to the history of logging in Menomonie and the surrounding area. Her image appears on our tap handles, and is and will be on all our 16oz cans. We applied for and obtained a federal Trademark registration for LUCETTE. This means that, while there are over 8,000 existing trademark registrations for some sort of beer, a trademark examiner searched for and determined that none of them were confusingly similar to LUCETTE. It also means that Lucette Brewing Company is legally presumed to own the exclusive right to use the LUCETTE mark on its beers.
Next some facts about THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER. Lucette follows the Beer Judge Certification Program (“BJCP”) guidelines in creating and naming our beers; Lucette’s THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER “blonde ale brewed with spices” is a light hybrid beer brewed with an American Ale yeast strain, in which Lucette uses coriander and Grains of Paradise for a subtle spice background. We launched THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER in 2011, available on draft or in 16oz cans. Lucette has never sold any of its products in 12oz glass bottles. Like on our tap handles, the graphically designed image on the can is that of the fictional character Lucette. We applied for and obtained a federal Trademark registration for THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER. This again means that a trademark examiner searched for and determined that none of the over 8,000 existing trademark registrations for beers, including about 30 that involve some sort of “FARM” in the mark, were confusingly similar to THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER for ale. It also means that Lucette Brewing Company is legally presumed to own the exclusive right to use THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER on its ales. As part of marketing our 16 oz. cans, we have used the phrase “Grab a Tall Girl” as a take off on the “Tall Boy” usage in the beer world as referring to cans of 16oz or larger and “Girl” refers to Lucette since she is, in fact, a girl.
Now some facts about the lawsuit. Another local brewer owns one of the existing trademark registrations which uses the word “FARM” in the mark. We have reviewed their brand, which has a black and white photo of a woman on the bottle label, and believe (like the trademark examiner did) that their brand is distinctly different from ours. We also believe, contrary to what the other local brewer is stating, that THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER blonde ale brewed with spices tastes quite different from their beer, which is a Saison. (Saisons historically originated as beers brewed during the cooler and less active months in Belgian farmhouses and using warm-fermenting yeast).
As part of the lawsuit, we learned that a few posters, neither created nor authorized by Lucette, were printed referencing both THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER and their “FARM…” mark. Unfortunately, these posters were displayed for several days in a few locations around St. Cloud, Minnesota. These signs violated our trademarks, and we believe we have succeeded – without litigation – in getting all such posters immediately taken down. Lucette does not and never has targeted any specific beer, beer style, or brewery. We are investigating the origin of these posters, but believe in any event that a few posters printed by a third party should not be the subject of litigation between local brewers.
It is our opinion that small business should avoid attacking one another, especially over brands that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has already ruled are distinctly different. We believe Lucette Brewing Company has every right to continue using our federally registered THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER trademark. We are not aware of any occasion when a customer was given one of our beers when they sought to purchase or order another. We are confident that those of you carrying and purchasing our brands can tell the difference.
Lucette Brewing Company will continue to market and sell THE FARMER’S DAUGHTER as it has before and not allow its distributors, retailers or consumers to be bullied by any other brewer’s unjustified attacks. We pledge to all of you that Lucette will seek to minimize the distraction of this litigation and instead focus on making the best possible beer at our brewery and telling our story. Lucette, now more than ever, looks forward to working with the people that believe in our company and our brands.
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