A brewery’s trademark and its subsequent labels are its identity and protecting that involves many steps that involve beverage lawyers, government agencies, keeping tabs on other breweries and so much more. Today we speak to three guests with an eye on trademark protection, homage/parody vs. intellectual property theft and the legal ramifications of what happens when the judicial system has to get involved. This is a fascinating part of the beer world.
GUESTS
Brian Kulbacki of Departed Soles Brewing.
Brian is a 2012 Graduate of the American Brewers Guild Brewing School, where he took their Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering course for Breweries in Planning. Prior to that he graduated from Boston College with a double major in Marketing & Finance. He has worked in marketing for the New England Patriots/Revolution and the Lakewood BlueClaws, as well as finance for Major League Baseball and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He has also managed operations for a family business. Brian founded Departed Soles Brewing Company in 2014, which in 2015 opened its doors to become the first brewery in Jersey City, New Jersey since prohibition, and the first brewery on the east coast to craft gluten free beer in dedicated equipment, along with traditional glutenous beers. The brewery has won medals at GABF, the World Beer Cup, and Best of Craft Beer Awards, among others. The brewery is now run by Brian’s dog, Bogan.
Bill Covaleski of Victory Brewing Co.
Bill has played a pivotal, creative role in leading the overall growth strategy of Victory Brewing Company. He serves as creative muse and guide for Victory beer brands and culinary collaborations as well as a driving force behind community engagement. Covaleski and Victory co- founder, Ron Barchet, serve as brewmasters, providing strategic guidance in the development of new beer brands.
In February of 2016 Covaleski and Barchet joined Phin and Sara DeMink, founders of Lakewood, NY based Southern Tier Brewing Company, as Artisanal Brewing Ventures, a partnership platform for like-minded brewers to continue to innovate and grow. With the addition of Brooklyn, NY based SixpointBrewing in 2018 and Bold Rock Ciders in 2019. Prior to co-founding Victory, he earned a degree from the prestigious Doemens Institute of MunichGermany, having completed their International Course in Brewing Studies after an invaluable five-year apprenticeship under German trained Dutch brewmaster, Theo deGroen. Before pursuing his craft beer dreams, Bill labored as an art director after earning his B.F.A. from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art.
Brendan Palfreyman
Brendan focuses on intellectual property matters, commercial litigation, and has significant experience efficiently and promptly reviewing corporate contracts. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in patent, trademark, copyright, and trade dress infringement actions. He also prosecutes trademark and copyright applications in the United States and globally for a wide range of clients and industries. A major focus of Brendan’s practice is representing and counseling breweries, wineries, and distilleries with regard to everything from corporate formation and licensing to M&A and distribution contracts. He is an award-winning homebrewer and one happy client even named a beer after him. Brendan has been quoted in various publications about legal issues facing the alcoholic beverage industry including the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and San Francisco Chronicle. He is a regular guest on industry podcasts such as BrewBound and Good Beer Hunting.
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Don Tse
Living near seven malthouses, Don Tse is a freelance beer and malt writer and consultant known globally as The Don of Beer. He has been active in craft beer for over 25 years and has famously sampled and written tasting notes on almost 27,000 different beers. He is the co-host of the All About Beer podcast. Don has also written for magazines and presented on beer in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine and Singapore. Nobody in those countries thinks his jokes are funny.
Em Sauter
Em Sauter is an Advanced Cicerone®, cartoonist, author, beer reviewer, international beer judge and public speaker who runs the award winning website Pints and Panels, which focuses on visual beer education. Her first book "Beer is for Everyone! (of Drinking Age)" was published in 2017 by One Peace Books. Her second book "Hooray for Craft Beer!" was released in April 2022 with Brewers Publications. Em is also co-host of the All About Beer Podcast. She lives in New England with her husband Matt and two cats- Milbo and The Geen.