In a David-and-Goliath battle over the ownership of a portfolio of heritage Australian beer labels, Goliath has won.

The Australian Trademarks Office has rejected a bid by craft brewer Thunder Road Brewery, based in Melbourne, to seize control of 59 beer brands owned by Carlton & United Breweries.

Three of the disputed brands.

Earlier this year Thunder Road made an audacious bid to break open heritage trademarks held by CUB to a long list of beers that carry historic names but that have been in limited release or have not been commercially brewed since before World War II.

Thunder Road wanted to break free a long tail of CUB trademarks that carried historic names – particularly revolving around suburbs and locations – and which the craft brewer claimed had been neglected by CUB.