2019.08.13 - Reuters - Guns N' Roses settles lawsuit over Guns 'N' Rosé beer (& related articles and court documents)

Guns N' Roses settles lawsuit over Guns 'N' Rosé beer

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Guns N' Roses has settled a lawsuit in which it accused the Colorado brewery Oskar Blues of trademark infringement for selling Guns 'N' Rosé ale and merchandise without permission.

According to a Monday court filing by the rock band's lawyers, both sides agreed in principle to settle on July 31, and are working on a written settlement that would lead to the lawsuit's dismissal.

Guns N' Roses, whose general partners include singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, accused Oskar Blues on May 9 of deliberately trading off its fame and goodwill by selling Guns 'N' Rosé, starting in early 2018.

It also objected to the sale of related T-shirts, stickers, buttons and bandannas, saying Oskar Blues confused beer drinkers into thinking Guns N' Roses and Guns 'N' Rosé were connected.

The Longmont, Colorado-based brewery, whose products include Dale's Pale Ale, has described Guns 'N' Rosé as combining "sticky prickly pear and floral hibiscus with a subtle hop profile."

Lawyers for the band and the brewery did not immediately respond on Tuesday to separate requests for comment.

Other craft breweries including Lagunitas, Rogue, Sierra Nevada and Stone have also been in trademark lawsuits, whether as plaintiffs or defendants, as the swelling ranks of breweries make it tougher to come up with new ways to sell beer.

The Brewers Association said the United States had 7,346 craft breweries in 2018, up from 3,814 in 2014.

The case is Guns N' Roses v Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC d/b/a Oskar Blues Brewery, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 19-04052.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-music-guns-n-roses-beer-lawsuit-idUSKCN1V31XL/

The Blast, same date:
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Guns N' Roses Settles Legal Battle Over Knockoff Guns 'N' Rose Beer and Merch

Guns N’ Roses has reached a deal to drop the lawsuit they brought against a company allegedly hawking beer and merchandise using the band name.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Guns N’ Roses – including Axl Rose and Slash – have reached a settlement agreement with Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective.

The band informed the court, “Plaintiff and Defendant CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective LLC have been engaged in settlement discussions since the filing of the Complaint on May 9, 2019. On July 31, 2019, Plaintiff and Defendant reached an agreement in principle that resolves all claims asserted in, and will result in dismissal of, the Complaint. The parties are in the process of finalizing a written settlement agreement and expect to execute a written agreement that will lead to dismissal of the Complaint in the near term.”

Guns N’ Roses is asking the judge to allow them more time to finalize the deal and they will then dismiss their lawsuit.

Earlier this year, Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan came together to sue Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective over a beer they've been selling called Guns 'N' Rose.

In addition, the band claimed the company has been selling hats, t-shirts, pint glasses, stickers, buttons, and bandannas with the name on them.

GNR claimed Canarchy tried to trademark the name but after the band objected, they agreed to abandon the application.

Axl and the boys claim they reached out several times to tell them to stop selling all the goods completely and claim Canarchy agreed to stop ... but not until March 2020.

That didn't fly with GNR but they claimed Canarchy “refused to immediately and completely cease sales and marketing" the beer and all the goods.

Guns N' Roses sued for trademark infringement and sought unspecified damages.

https://theblast.com/c/guns-n-roses-lawsuit-beer-merchandise-settled

Another article in Vulture, Aug. 15, 2019:
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Guns N’ Roses Settles Trademark Dispute with Makers of Guns N’ Rosé

By Bethy Squires

For too long, trademark disputes have torn this great country asunder. Who could forget the vicious Kylie v. Kylie wars? Well, at least one pair of trademark warriors have laid down their arms. Guns N’ Roses has settled with Oskar Blues Brewery (a.k.a. Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective) over the latter’s Guns N’ Rosé beer. I don’t know which to be more mad about: that Canarchy didn’t clear use of the Guns N’ Roses brand with Axl et al., or that Guns N’ Rosé isn’t a rosé wine. Just as well, since spiked seltzer has dethroned rosé and the aperol spritz as the cliché drink of summer. The band filed a federal lawsuit against the Canarchists in May, and agreed to settle the dispute and drop the suit July 31.

Guns N’ Roses formed from the merger of two bands/brands: LA Guns and Hollywood Rose. According to the original complaint, the band has licensed their name for bandannas and wine glasses, among other things. Glasses of rosé wine can be seen in their opus, the 1992 video for “November Rain.” Billboard points out that the rosé ale was advertised as “crisp AF,” and a review on Beer Advocate claims it “Goes well with crabs.”

ttps://www.vulture.com/2019/08/guns-n-roses-has-settled-complaint-against-guns-n-ros.html

The lawsuit was filed in May 2019. There was no filing activity until August 8 (the complaint wasn't even served), so the court ordered GN'R to "show cause" on why the lawsuit shouldn't be dismissed for "lack of prosecution". On Aug. 12, GN'R's attorney's responded that the two parties had engaged in settlement discussions soon after the lawsuit was filed and were close to reach an agreement. So the judge granted extended time to serve twice. Finally, he lawsuit was typically dismissed (by court order) on September 11, 2019 (see attached documents).