(Holland, MI) – On Friday, I reported on a bit of a trademark scuffle going down between Alpine Beer Co. and New Holland Brewing. Alpine went public with the news earlier in the day.

On Saturday, New Holland issued a formal statement on its Facebook page. Here it is in full (as some readers do not have access to Facebook):

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We’d like to start this note by saying that we don’t believe Facebook or other social media sites are the place for Trademark discussions or negotiations.  However, we’ve recently had some posts regarding Alpine Beer Company, who sent their fans a note in their newsletter asking them to tell us what they think of us protecting our brand, Ichabod. We composed this short note, and post it here so that we can direct these fans to our response.

New Holland Brewing Company has recently issued a cease and desist letter to Alpine Beer Company in Alpine, California regarding the use of the brand “Ichabod” for their Pumpkin Ale. New Holland Brewing Company has been brewing Ichabod Pumpkin Ale since 1997 and currently distributes the brand across thirteen states.

Trademark law dictates that the holder of a mark has the responsibility to protect their registered marks, or they become weakened, and perhaps nullified. This protection can take many forms, assuming both parties in a dispute are willing to negotiate towards a solution. In this case, Alpine Beer Company refused all initial overtures for conversation or negotiation regarding their use of our mark. Having our requests ignored, New Holland had no choice but to issue a cease and desist letter regarding Ichabod.

It is unfortunate that Alpine Beer has decided to attempt to portray New Holland in a negative light to their fans and the public, rather than negotiate a solution.

We have been on both sides of trademark negotiations and understand the frustrations of being a small brewer. If Alpine Beer Company asks you to believe that we’re some big bad corporate behemoth that won’t negotiate, why don’t you ask them to give us a call? We haven’t had any luck.

Cheers,
New Holland Brewing Company