Farmhands label.jpg

"Farmhand," a French Farmhouse-style ale is a flagship beer from Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Brewery owner Jason Spaulding sent a cease and desist letter this year to Tired Hands Brewing of Ardmore, Pa., which makes a beer called "Farmhands."

(Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Brewery Vivant this year joined a growing list of American microbreweries that have become involved in trademark disputes with fellow craft brewers.

In April, the Grand Rapids brewery sent a cease and desist letter to Tired Hands Brewing Co. of Ardmore, Pa., demanding the small brewpub stop using the name "Farmhands" for one of its Belgian saison-style ales.

Brewery Vivant co-owner Jason Spaulding said his company is obligated to defend the trademark on its French farmhouse-style ale called "Farmhand," a widely distributed year-round offering that has become a common sight on Michigan shelves and tap handles.

But on the other side of the coin, Tired Hands owner Jean Broillet expressed frustration at the prospect of changing the name of a beer that’s become popular among pub patrons.

“Every day my industry is becoming more and more like the tech industry,” said Broillet, whose new suburban Philadelphia brewpub also specializes in Belgian and French-style ales.

“It’s a sad (expletive) state of affairs.”

In just the past year, several high profile trademark dustups have chipped away at the craft brewing industry’s reputation as a big, tight-knit family whose common adversaries are large domestic brand owners such as AB-InBev and MillerCoors.

In June, West Sixth Brewing of Kentucky and Magic Hat Brewing of Vermont settled a trademark logo lawsuit that spilled into the social media realm and ultimately ended up souring many craft beer fans on both companies.

In January, Narwhal Brewery of Brooklyn changed its name to Finback Brewery after California-based Sierra Nevada, the country's second largest craft brewer, objected to the similarity of the brewery name to Sierra Nevada's Narwhal Imperial Stout ale.

Disputes between craft brewers are likely to escalate based on the sheer number of new players entering the market, said Christopher Baker, a Novi-based attorney for Varnum Law who specializes in the beverage industry.

According to the Brewers Association, a trade group that tracks the craft beer industry, there were more than 2,500 operating breweries in the county as of June 2013, up from about 2,000 in 2011. The number of total breweries has steadily climbed from a low point of 89 nationwide in the late 1970s.

“You’re talking thousands of brewers who are trying to capture 10 percent of the marketplace in the aggregate,” said Baker. “A unique name and taste is the goal everyone is trying to achieve.”

Although businesses have some common law protections for trademarks based on their usage in the marketplace, Baker said taking the step to protect the trademark by registering it can make the difference in a dispute case. Businesses that don’t defend a trademark also risk losing the rights to it, he said.

Not every case goes to court. Amicable agreements can be worked out between parties that help avoid litigation.

Spaulding first noticed "Farmhands" when the beer appeared in a Google Alert. He sent an email to the Pennsylvania brewery but said he never heard back. Since Tired Hands doesn’t distribute and Vivant (outside of special events) only sells beer in Michigan and Illinois, Spaulding simply kept tabs on the other brand.

The breaking point came at the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C., in March, he said, when people began actively confusing the two brands.

Spaulding, who started Vivant in 2010 after leaving as a co-founder of New Holland Brewing Co., said "I'd rather have someone tell me there's a conflict before I invest thousands of dollars in packaging and labels."

“Personally, I think we did them a favor bringing it up earlier rather than later.”

“I’m sure they won't see it that way, but I know what it’s like when you’re a startup brewery scraping dimes together,” he said.

Broillet, who opened Tired Hands last summer, said he is changing the name of the beer rather than fighting with Vivant. He spoke briefly to MLive by phone in early August and subsequent attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful.

“They are much larger than we are and our revenue is better spent elsewhere,” he said.

Update: Tired Hands/Vivant owners post position statements online

Garret Ellison covers business, government and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at gellison@mlive.com or follow on Twitter.