Partner Anne Glazer was interviewed on KSKQ 89.5 FM in Ashland, Ore., for a segment called “BeerRadio.” Glazer and host Ginger Johnson touched on a wide range of subjects including: what are litigation and intellectual property, especially trademarks and copyrights, the areas in which Glazer practices; the reasons Glazer chose to practice law and the satisfactions she gets from it (“...engaging with people who are excited about their business and just trying to make their way through the thicket of dealing with legal issues.”); and Glazer’s first memory related to beer—the smell of the old Blitz- Weinhard Brewery on West Burnside Street in Portland.
With the proliferation of breweries, cideries, distilleries and wineries and other producers of products to eat or drink, as well as places to consume them, Glazer stressed the importance of trademarking a brand so its impact won’t be diluted by multiple users and pointed out that it is becoming harder to find a name not already taken. “The only way to do it, I think, is to come up with a pretty long list and start working through it, and don’t get married to any one name until you’ve done that searching and found that it appears to be available...”
Glazer said that while a cease and desist letter from well-known law firm can be very effective in getting someone to stop violating a trademarked brand name (“…sometimes you do want to be the big, bad wolf…”), in a close-knit community like beer producers the best method of resolution can sometimes simply be a phone call.
Listen to the interview here or at KSKQ’s archive of “BeerRadio” segments.