Happy, Merry Beer Trademark Filed by Utah Based Red Rock Brewing Company

It's that time of year. On December 6th, the Red Rock Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, Utah filed a federal trademark application for its FROHLICH Pils beer. The trademark application states that the English translation of Frohlich means "happy, merry" (presumably how you feel after drinking a couple of these high alcohol beers).

According to the company's website, this beer "features a dry, clean, crisp body with a notable hop bitterness." Although Red Rock Brewing filed this application in December, the application itself indicates that the company has been selling this beer since August 2014.

It's common for craft beer companies to file trademarks for the unique names they come up with for their beers and I've seen many of these filings this year. With a federal trademark, these breweries can obtain the exclusive, nationwide right to use the term on alcohol (and the design of the label depending on the application). A federal trademark registration also makes it easier for these breweries to license their trademark for collaborations with other breweries or companies (New Belgium recently did this with Ben and Jerry's).