(Downingtown, PA) – On Wednesday, BeerPulse linked to an article in the Smoky Mountain News detailing how Headwaters Brewing changed its name to Bearwaters Brewing as a result of a trademark dispute with Victory Brewing Company. Victory unveiled a beer, Headwaters Pale Ale, in mid-December of 2010, later releasing it commercially.

Victory co-founder and brewmaster, Bill Covaleski, responded to the SMN piece with a comment which appears to have been curiously removed but not before BeerPulse captured it. Here is the brief statement from Covaleski:

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Kevin and I had some good conversations but the results are indeed unfortunate. This author did not do thorough research for his article, though. Kevin was presented options for continued use. Trademark law is bigger than either company here and certain rules of the road cannot be overlooked. Our federally approved Certificate of Label Approval for Headwaters Pale Ale, registered with the Tax and Trade Bureau, dates back to Dec. 21, 2010. The Waynesville company opened in May of 2012. Both brewer and writer did not do their due diligence, sadly.

– Bill Covaleski, Brewmaster of Victory Brewing Company