Thanks for subscribing to the Ale Yeah! Newsletter. You will find weekly new arrivals and specials on outgoing seasonal beers! Visit us at www.aleyeahbeer.com! There is a great disturbance in the force... Seems appropriate as Dragon*Con ascends upon the city of Atlanta this week that we steal a line from Star Wars: A New Hope. Princess Leia sought the help of the wise, reclused Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi as an evil force was building, threatening the galaxy's peaceful way of life. Seems we have an Empire as well, but in order to build this mythos perhaps a little back story is needed.



Three years ago we submitted a series of trademarks to the United States Trademark & Patent Office (USPTO), including our logo as well as the phrase "Ale Yeah!". We don't want to own the name exclusively but rather submitted the mark under the retail services category. A few months later (there is a lengthy time to oppose, being 'first' in this case means nothing) a group known as the LM Restaurant Group (www.lmrest.com, Twitter @LMRestaurants), parent company of the Carolina Ale House (www.carolinaalehouse.com, Twitter @carolinalehouse, www.facebook.com/CarolinaAleHouseOfficial), opposed our registration under the retail services category, citing first use of the phrase "Ale Yeah!" in 2007. They have used the phrase "Ale Yeah!" on some advertising pieces as well as their menus occasionally. Keep in mind that there are numerous instances of companies holding a trademark that operate within different industries. Beretta (gun/car), Apple (music/computing) are just a couple of said instances. LM Restaurants submitted their own use of the mark within the restaurant services category with the USPTO a few months later and was awarded the mark in 2014. Should we have opposed said registration? Perhaps, but we were confident that sometime in mid 2016 this dispute would be resolved and both companies would be awarded the mark within their respective category. Their lawyers have even admitted that there is no possible confusion between our two businesses.



Fast forward to August 2015 and LM Restaurants decided to turn the dick meter up to 11 by filing a Federal lawsuit, in North Carolina no less, a state we don't do business in, claiming trademark infringement of their awarded 2014 mark, citing 'numerous requests for us to change our name and cease using the name "Ale Yeah!"'. The lawsuit completely ignores our now 3 year trademark battle over the phrase and is simply a ploy to spend us into submission. They know they are going to "lose" (let's be honest, there are no winners here) with both companies being granted the use of the phrase, so why not make us spend more money to defend ourselves against a frivolous lawsuit? They even submitted an email after the papers were served asking if we would table the trademark proceedings while the lawsuit was pending. This is clearly an instance of a bully kicking sand in the face of a smaller target, but they really don't know who they are messing with. This is our name. This is our passion.



So, what can you do? Well, the obvious answer is support our stores and for that we greatly appreciate each and every one of you. You can also take to Social Media sites such as Facebook, Yelp! and Twitter, voicing your support for us while applying pressure to LM Restaurants and Carolina Ale House (there are 26 locations in 6 states) to drop this frivolous waste of time and money. Hashtags to use: #aleyeah #aleyeahbeer #theREALAleYeah. We are kicking around ideas of possible benefit shows/events and should they come to fruition we will provide those updates. We will not crowd fund our legal fees but offers to help are most appreciated.



Thanks for the consideration and being our fans. Can we get an Ale Yeah!!

