ESCONDIDO, Calif., March 25,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the San Diego federal court ruled in favor of
Stone Brewing in a trademark dispute filed four years ago. Stone
filed the lawsuit against MillerCoors (now Molson Coors) for illegal use of Stone's
registered, incontestable STONE® trademark after the company
rebranded its Keystone beer as STONE. During the time of
infringement, Molson Coors sold more
than $1.7 billion of Keystone beer
branded as STONE. The three-week trial took place before U.S.
District Judge Roger Benitez and an
eight-person jury.
"This is a historic day for Stone Brewing,
and for the craft beer industry."
Stone Brewing is the nation's 9th largest craft
brewery, yet in 2020 it produced 347,000 barrels of beer, only 0.5%
the volume of beer produced by Molson
Coors. This underdog win is a victory for every craft
brewery that prides itself in independence, valuing quality over
all else.
"From the moment our team saw Keystone's intentional theft of
the STONE® trademark, we believed this day would come," explained
Maria Stipp, Stone Brewing CEO. "We
are committed to doing everything in our power to protect the
incredible reputation of the Stone brand and the passionate team
who built it. We'd like to thank the team at BraunHagey &
Borden LLC for their representation of our case. They put their
heart, souls and talent into it, and we couldn't have asked for
anything more than that."
Stone Brewing Co-Founder Greg
Koch added, "This is a historic day for Stone Brewing, and
for the craft beer industry. Molson
Coors threatened our heritage, but we stood up to that
threat. They will put the 'Key' back in 'Keystone' ending their
hostile 4-year co-op of the Stone name. Cheers to our legions of
fans, friends and supporters who believe in the good that craft
beer brings. This is your win too."
Stone was represented by the law firm BraunHagey & Borden
LLP, a litigation boutique based in San
Francisco and New York.
About Stone Brewing:
The San Diego-based Stone Brewing
is the 9th largest craft brewer in the
United States and an industry leader in environmental
sustainability. Stone operates breweries in Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA, plus seven tap room and bistro
locations and one of the nation's largest craft-centric beverage
distributors, Stone Distributing Co. To find Stone beers, visit
find.stonebrewing.com. For more information on Stone Brewing
visit stonebrewing.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
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SOURCE Stone Brewing