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Moosehead, Moose Drool (Big Sky Brewing of Missoula) case settled

Last week Big Sky Brewing Co. and Moosehead Breweries Ltd., a Canadian company, reached a settlement to a 9-year-old lawsuit over the use of "moose" in Moose Drool’s name.

By ROBERT STRUCKMAN of the Missoulian

http://missoulian.com/articles/2004/11/09/business/bus02.txt

Neil Leathers, a co-owner of Big Sky Brewing http://www.bigskybrew.com/ , has illustrated the core of the settlement with a map of the United States on his office wall. In black marker, he has outlined the states where Big Sky can sell Moose Drool. Big Sky also agreed not to trademark the name "Moose Drool." Moosehead remains the only trademarked beer name with "moose" in it.

Neither side is jumping for joy, Leathers said. But he’s happy because the risk of losing the name "Moose Drool" was so great.
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"Basically we’ve got west of the Mississippi," he said. The line doesn’t quite follow the great river, he explained. Instead it runs from the Gulf of Mexico north, up the eastern border of Texas and Oklahoma, before it jogs east of the Mississippi, taking in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Officials from Moosehead were not available for comment last week.

The settlement resolved a dispute before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It was sparked when Moosehead lawyers objected to an effort by Big Sky Brewing to trademark the name of its flagship brew.

Those at Big Sky Brewing have maintained that the name of the brown ale had nothing to do with Moosehead but rather came from a conversation about a piece of artwork made by the mother of one of the company’s founders. The painting depicts a moose raising his head after he’s been under the water eating.

Lawyers for Moosehead argued that Moose Drool might create confusion for potential customers.

The brown ale is Big Sky Brewing’s top brand, Leathers said. Without the name, the brewer would be at a terrible disadvantage.

"Branding means everything to us. Without the settlement, we risked losing the brand altogether, and this agreement leaves us with plenty of growing room," he said.

Leathers declined to comment more substantially about the settlement. He did not say whether any cash would change hands. As the settlement was reached out of court, it is likely that it will largely remain within the two companies involved.

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