Spokane’s No-Li Brewhouse must defend a registered trademark against a very large opponent: Tilray Brands, the owner of Redhook.
Earlier this month, Redhook introduced the latest addition to its Big Ballard family of IPAs: Big Juicy Ballard. It took some time, but eventually, something clicked in my mind. No-Li Brewhouse in Spokane, Washington already makes a beer called Big Juicy. No-Li introduced its Big Juicy IPA back in 2016, maybe earlier. I wondered if the brewery had a trademark for the term Big Juicy. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) makes it easy to discover the answer to such questions.
No-Li Brewhouse holds an active trademark on the term big juicy, as applied to “Beer; Malt Liquor.” The introduction of Redhook’s Big Juicy Ballard puts No-Li Brewhouse in an interesting, if not difficult, position: it must defend its registered trademark against an exponentially larger company. Redhook is now owned by Tilray Brands, a large company with deep pockets. (More about that at the bottom of this story.) If a company does not defend its trademark, it risks losing it.
I reached out to John Bryant, one of the owners of No-Li Brewhouse. He said that No-Li was aware of the situation. Without going into details he told me that No-Li Brewhouse had contacted Tilray’s representatives in New York City. The conversation yielded no resolution. No-Li decided to file a lawsuit in federal court over the matter. That lawsuit has now been filed.
On the surface, it appears an open-and-shut case. There is no disputing that Big Juicy is trademarked and No-Li holds the mark. According to the USPTO, “Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services.”
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Bryant told me that Tilray’s legal representatives disagreed that this was a trademark infringement, which is why No-Li Brewhouse had to file the lawsuit. Beyond the basic facts, Bryant did not share many comments about the situation, which is understandable considering this is a legal matter involving a large and powerful company.
The lawsuit was just filed on Friday, as I understand it. So, this is still very fresh news. I will seek official comments from No-Li Brewhouse and Tilray Brands in the coming days or weeks. For now, just know that this trademark dispute is happening.
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We are all familiar with the story of David and Goliath. The parable teaches us that even a much, much smaller opponent can defeat a behemoth when armed with righteousness and the courage of conviction. In matters like the one now facing No-Li Brewhouse, the reality is that Goliath might have the wherewithal to avoid the battle altogether. The Lord may never have the opportunity to guide the stone hurled by David, to use biblical terms. A company the size of Tilray could potentially make the battle too expensive and burdensome to pursue. While No-Li Brewhouse may seem like a big brewery compared to many other craft breweries, it is still a very small business in the grand scheme.
Disclosure: No-Li Brewhouse and Redhook are sponsors of the Washington Beer Blog.
Who is Tilray?
Last year, Anheuser-Busch InBev sold some of its smaller breweries to Tilray Brands, Incorporated. See that story here. The result, Redhook and several other brands are now part of the Tilray family. Tilray is an American pharmaceutical, cannabis-lifestyle, and consumer packaged goods company. It is incorporated in the United States and headquartered in New York City. Tilray also operates in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, and beyond. Tilray is described as the largest global cannabis company by revenue and geographic reach. According to Wikipedia, its revenues amounted to $627 million in 2023. Presumably, Tilray’s foray into the world of beer, and adult beverages, helps position the company for the introduction of cannabis- and THC-infused beverages, when such beverages become a reality on the national level.
