Heavy Seas Beer and Loose Cannon Brewery Agree to Trademark Licensing

Heavy Seas Beer in Baltimore, Maryland and Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon, United Kingdom have established a trademark agreement over the potential confusion between the two brands.

Heavy Seas Beer has plans to release its beers in the UK and EU, which could potentially cause confusion with one of its top-selling brands Loose Cannon IPA sporting a similar moniker to Loose Cannon Brewery's name.

According to a press release from Heavy Seas, "the Trademark ownership and use issue has now been fully resolved with Loose Cannon taking over the ownership of the UK trademark and subsequently granting a license for use to Heavy Seas Beer in the UK. Heavy Seas has granted a mirror license to the Loose Cannon Brewery for the use of the Trademark in the EU."

The full release from the brewery is below.

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ABINGDON, United Kingdom — The Loose Cannon Brewery of Abingdon, UK has recently established trademark agreement with Heavy Seas Beer of Baltimore, Maryland as Heavy Seas moves towards selling their beers in the UK and Europe.

Heavy Seas’ flagship brand, Loose Cannon IPA, was potentially going to create confusion with the Loose Cannon Brewery. Happily, the Trademark ownership and use issue has now been fully resolved with Loose Cannon taking over the ownership of the UK trade mark and subsequently granting a license for use to Heavy Seas Beer in the UK. Heavy Seas has granted a mirror license to the Loose Cannon Brewery for the use of the Trademark in the EU.

This equitable solution to what could have been an extended and litigious dispute, is testament that communication is key in these types of matters and sets a positive example to others in the craft brewing industry. In an addition to this outcome, it is hoped that the links between the two breweries will begin to flourish with some planned future projects.

To mark what has been a successful outcome, the two brewers will produce a collaboration brew in 2019 at the Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon to introduce Heavy Seas beers to the UK market.

The brewer of Heavy Seas Beer, Clipper City Brewing Co, was advised by Exeter-based Stephens Scown LLP. Loose Cannon Brewing Company was advised by London-based CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP.

About Loose Cannon Brewing Company

Loose Cannon was founded in 2010 reviving the brewing industry in Abingdon-on-Thames, a town famous for its beers for centuries. The brewery produces 18 cask ales (a mix of full time, seasonal and one-off monthly beers) and 6 kegged beers for the on trade as well as three bottled and three canned beers for the off trade. Loose Cannon have won a total of 20 brewing awards from SIBA and CAMRA including four national brewing awards.

About Heavy Seas Beer

Heavy Seas Beer was founded by Hugh Sisson in 1995 and has grown the business to become one of the most respected and award-winning craft breweries on the east coast of the United States. As the first pub brewer in Maryland, Hugh was responsible for the legislation that made brewpubs legal in the state. Now over two decades later, Heavy Seas is celebrating its 23rd year of brewing independent craft beer in Baltimore. The brewery also continues to expand its beer portfolio, now producing 23 different beer styles and distributing to 20 states as well as Washington D.C. Heavy Seas was also named Beer Connoisseur Magazine’s 2017 Brewery of the Year.