I just found out about this yesterday and it seems to have escalated since then, but the "brewers" of Magic Hat have filed suit against one of the small local, to me at least, brewers for a multitude of things apparently.
http://www.westsixth.com/response-to-magic-hat/?age-verified=055885e995
Thoughts?
Magic Hat did have an interesting response to it.
http://beerpulse.com/2013/05/magic-hat-calls-bs-on-west-sixths-media-campaign-after-lawsuit-407/
Edit: Oh, dur, the thing you linked to was a response to the response. I love this sort of stuff. (not really.)
I was reading that here:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/1eu8jg/response_from_magic_hat_concerning_the_west_6th/
Take a look at what MH borrows for designs.
Personally, after looking at both logos side by side, I honestly think Magic Hat is out of line here...
What Ian said.
They use a 9 and a 6. Unless they store one of the bottles upside down, no confusion there.
They use round logos. Um... not an argument.
They both feature a compass/star. Hardly an argument.
Sounds like whining to me, on both sides of the suit. Everybody needs to put on the big girl panties and come to a reasonable solution (and I suspect they're close to one already). The wording in the original lawsuit did come across as quite harsh, but it sounds like both parties have made concessions and the terms will be much much less strict than originally requested.
Personally, Magic Hat #9 sucks. I can say I have never had the other, mostly because I am out of the distributors range inside the state. 
I think Magic Hat should spend more time making their beer better than suing people. Seriously.
ZOMG, don't tell them New Castle has a star on it.......
Did anybody else catch that Magic Hat's trademark is only for " #9 ". Not 9 alone, not 9 in a circle, just #9. Their trademark doesn't even include the starburst/compass thing.
What a ridiculous waste of everybodies time. 
Magic Hat sux. Moving along.
I don't care which one is right in this pissing match but... I agree on the ass-like suckiness of #9 so... yeah, moving along.
Check out "Beer Wars" on Netflix if big brewer bullying is interesting to you. It's an interesting insight on the workings of the industry.
I have no inside industry insight into either of these companies.
I don't see much confusion between a "6" and a "#9" while there are a bunch of other visual clues to differentiate which is up on the can.
And maybe I'm biased, but Old Rasputin kicks the ass of anything Magic Hat does. 
Old Rasputin is indeed delicious. If I ever find myself in northern California, can you give me a personal tour of North Coast? 
I'm just going to leave this here...
Also, Magic Hat officially requested two changes: 1) get rid of the starburst, and 2) ensure the words West Sixth Brewing are always present around the logo. There's quite a bit of legal communication between the two parties (viewable here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/142860493/Magic-Hat-Brewing-and-West-Sixth-Brewing) so the claim that Magic Hat isn't responding to calls or email is either highly misleading or an outright lie.
I'm going to call this one reasonable. Looking at both cans at a glance, I'd think they were made by the same brewer.
Mitchell wrote: Old Rasputin is indeed delicious. If I ever find myself in northern California, can you give me a personal tour of North Coast?
Possibly/Probably.
Beer Baron wrote: And maybe I'm biased, but Old Rasputin kicks the ass of anything Magic Hat does.
Ummmmmm, I don't think you need to have any disclaimers around that. Old Rasputin is without a doubt better than anything Magic Hat does. And most brewers, anywhere. That's a great beer.
kylini wrote: Also, Magic Hat officially requested two changes: 1) get rid of the starburst, and 2) ensure the words West Sixth Brewing are always present around the logo.
Magic Hat's trademark does not include the starburst, West Sixths does.
West Sixth's logo is trademarked as well, exactly as pictured on the can, including the whole circle, compass point, etc. It's an actual "logo", as opposed to Magic Hat's trademark, which is literally, and I'm quoting their actual USPTO trademark here, " #9 ".
Yeah, I think Magic Hat is ticked for being outsold in Ky by an upstart and is working on how to not loose more market share.
Bad Magic Hat, Bad.
Javelin wrote:kylini wrote: Also, Magic Hat officially requested two changes: 1) get rid of the starburst, and 2) ensure the words West Sixth Brewing are always present around the logo.1. Magic Hat's trademark does *not* include the starburst, West Sixths does. 2. West Sixth's logo is trademarked as well, exactly as pictured on the can, including the whole circle, compass point, etc. It's an actual "logo", as opposed to Magic Hat's trademark, which is literally, and I'm quoting their actual USPTO trademark here, " #9 ".
This is the image/"mark" that "Magic Hat" registered.
(via the USPTO website, can't directly link to search results - use serial number 85883897)
Keywords:
01.01.05 - Stars - one or more stars with seven or more points
05.03.25 - Leaf, single; Other leaves
24.17.25 - Biohazard symbol; Degree sign (°); Equal sign (=); Greater than symbol > (mathematical); Handicapped symbol; Hazardous materials symbol; Less than symbol < (mathematical); Pound sign (#)
26.01.21 - Circles that are totally or partially shaded.
26.01.26 - Coils; Spirals; Swirls
26.17.02 - Bands, wavy; Bars, wavy; Lines, wavy; Wavy line(s), band(s) or bar(s)
26.17.06 - Bands, diagonal; Bars, diagonal; Diagonal line(s), band(s) or bar(s); Lines, diagonal
And then specifically this description:
"Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a circle with wavy lines inside in a swirl pattern. # and 9 appear in the center of the circle and an eight pointed star appears in the center of the 9"
IMHO, there's enough similarity there that West Sixths should know better. It would be easy enough for a consumer to see familial traits between the two and believe that the 6 product was related to the 9 product.
The match doesn't have to be exact, it just has to cause confusion, and this is far more than "6 is an upside down 9".
dculberson wrote:Beer Baron wrote: And maybe I'm biased, but Old Rasputin kicks the ass of anything Magic Hat does.Ummmmmm, I don't think you need to have any disclaimers around that. Old Rasputin is without a doubt better than anything Magic Hat does. And most brewers, anywhere. That's a great beer.
+1. Old Rasputin has even made to the Eas Coast. Good stuff!
kylini wrote: I'm just going to leave this here...
West Sixth is doing a very good job of rabblerousing the internet.
A peter said, Magic Hat has a lot more trademarked than just #9.
peter wrote: IMHO, there's enough similarity there that West Sixths should know better. It would be easy enough for a consumer to see familial traits between the two and believe that the 6 product was related to the 9 product.
Thanks for the link to their other USPTO TM, that definitely is a lot closer. The thing is, this argument doesn't hold water. If the marks were too similar, the USPTO wouldn't have issued the TM to West Sixth in the first place. I had never heard of either of these places before this thread and I could easily tell the marks apart. One is a very simple, clean design with a psuedo-Seahawks color scheme and a compass, and the other is a psychadelic take on the "Hippie" 917's paint scheme with bugs and E36 M3 in it. Magic Hat can pound sand, they'd never win.
peter wrote:Javelin wrote:This is the image/"mark" that "Magic Hat" registered.kylini wrote: Also, Magic Hat officially requested two changes: 1) get rid of the starburst, and 2) ensure the words West Sixth Brewing are always present around the logo.1. Magic Hat's trademark does *not* include the starburst, West Sixths does. 2. West Sixth's logo is trademarked as well, exactly as pictured on the can, including the whole circle, compass point, etc. It's an actual "logo", as opposed to Magic Hat's trademark, which is literally, and I'm quoting their actual USPTO trademark here, " #9 ".(via the USPTO website, can't directly link to search results - use serial number 85883897) Keywords: 01.01.05 - Stars - one or more stars with seven or more points 05.03.25 - Leaf, single; Other leaves 24.17.25 - Biohazard symbol; Degree sign (°); Equal sign (=); Greater than symbol > (mathematical); Handicapped symbol; Hazardous materials symbol; Less than symbol < (mathematical); Pound sign (#) 26.01.21 - Circles that are totally or partially shaded. 26.01.26 - Coils; Spirals; Swirls 26.17.02 - Bands, wavy; Bars, wavy; Lines, wavy; Wavy line(s), band(s) or bar(s) 26.17.06 - Bands, diagonal; Bars, diagonal; Diagonal line(s), band(s) or bar(s); Lines, diagonal And then specifically this description: "Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a circle with wavy lines inside in a swirl pattern. # and 9 appear in the center of the circle and an eight pointed star appears in the center of the 9" IMHO, there's enough similarity there that West Sixths should know better. It would be easy enough for a consumer to see familial traits between the two and believe that the 6 product was related to the 9 product. The match doesn't have to be exact, it just has to cause confusion, and this is far more than "6 is an upside down 9".
Pretty sure a lot of those things are on a berkeleying dollar bill too. Good luck barkin up that tree.
In reply to peter:
Ahhhhaahahahahahaaaaa!!!! Did you actually read Magic Hat's entire TM for that hippie #9 thing?
Word Mark #9
Goods and Services IC 032. US 045 046 048. G & S: Ale; Beer. FIRST USE: 20071231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20071231
Mark Drawing Code (3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS
Serial Number 85883897
Filing Date March 22, 2013
Current Basis 1A
Original Filing Basis 1A
Owner (APPLICANT) Magic Hat IP, LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY VERMONT 5 Bartlett Bay Road S. Burlington VERMONT 05402
Attorney of Record Kimberly I. Shimomura
Description of Mark Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a circle with wavy lines inside in a swirl pattern. # and 9 appear in the center of the circle and an eight pointed star appears in the center of the 9.
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