Who did not see this coming but should have? Hey Christopherson, who says beer and wine are closely related/un-related for trademark purposes? Hey Messinger thanks for telling me about this.
It is common knowledge that the beer field is crowded, when it comes to trademarks. But many steps further, even the beer-fish-trademark field is crowded, it appears.
And so on. NPR noted:
American trademark law lumps breweries together with wineries and distilleries, making the naming game even chancier. A widely circulating rumor has it that Yellow Tail Wines, of Australia, came after Ballast Point Brewing Co., in San Diego, for naming a beer “Yellowtail.”
Ballast Point’s pale ale is now conspicuously lacking a fish-themed name (a signature, if not a trademark, of the brewery), though an image of a brightly colored yellowtail still resides plainly — and legally, it seems — on the label. A spokesperson for Ballast Point said the company could not discuss the matter.
This very thing happened in my town, Cambria, when a local brewery named after the town received a complaint from Kendall-Jackson, who owns Cambria Estate Winery. Cambria Estate Winery, holding no estate in the town of Cambria, is located approximately 75 miles SSE from the Town and brewery of the same name.
What does Yellowtail taste like? Also is it available in Canada?