KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A trademark lawsuit has been filed against Upper Hand Brewery, a U.P.-area division of Bell’s Brewery.
The federal lawsuit concerns allegations of trademark infringement over the Upper Hand beer “Deer Camp,” an Amber Lager-style ale.
The lawsuit has been filed by the company Buck Baits LLC, a hunting supply store based in Michigan.
Buck Baits claims that it has been using the “Deer Camp” name since 2015 for a line of their own products that includes coffee and apparel, trademarking the name in 2016.
The lawsuit alleges that Bell’s had also applied for the “Deer Camp” trademark for its beer and was denied in 2018, owing to the fact that it may be confused with the Buck Baits product line.
Despite the denial, Buck Baits says that Bell’s continued with the production of the beer anyway.
The company is suing Bell’s to halt usage of the “Deer Camp” name, as well as for financial compensation. The company has since moved to modify their own trademark to include beer products, which has been forwarded to the United States Patent and Trademark Office as of December 2019.
As last reported, Bell’s founder Larry Bell says that the company has yet to receive the suit.
