BrewDog celebrates trademark victory by dressing up as Elvis

By Nikkie Sutton

- Last updated on GMT

Release date: BrewDog co-founders (l-r) Martin Dickie and James Watt launched BrewDog Elvis Juice in 2015
Release date: BrewDog co-founders (l-r) Martin Dickie and James Watt launched BrewDog Elvis Juice in 2015

Related tags Brewery Rock music Elvis presley

Scottish brewer and operator BrewDog is celebrating its trademark victory over the Elvis Presley estate by giving away a free ‘schooner’ of BrewDog Elvis Juice dressed as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.

Drinkers can grab their free beer at any of BrewDog’s 37 UK bars or its sites in Barcelona, Brussels and Berlin on Saturday 3 or Sunday 4 February.

BrewDog Elvis Juice is a grapefruit-infused IPA, which launched in 2015 but was hit with a lawsuit from the rock and roll singer’s estate, alleging it infringed on its trademark and requesting BrewDog to change the name.

In reaction, the craft brewer’s co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie changed their first names to Elvis​ by deed poll in 2016 in a bid to “demonstrate the lack of exclusivity of the name Elvis”.

After losing the trademark battle in 2017,​ BrewDog appealed and last week, the Board of Appeal at the UK Intellectual Property Office ruled in its favour.

Huge growth

Since launching in 2015, BrewDog Elvis Juice has gone on to become the third best-selling craft beer in the UK, after BrewDog’s Punk IPA and Dead Pony Club and sales of the beer exceeded £5.5m in 2017.

In the past year, BrewDog has shipped the equivalent of 65m bottles of craft beer around the world and released the first beers from its new American brewery in Columbus, Ohio.

The brewer-operator’s growth has been powered by its record-breaking Equity for Punks crowdfunding initiative, which has seen the company raise more than £52m since 2009.

In October 2017, the brewery launched its fifth round of Equity for Punks, looking to raise at least £10m, with a stretch goal of up to £50m in order to further its global expansion.

This included construction of new breweries in Australia and Asia, the opening of 15 new craft beer sites in the UK, increasing production capacity in its UK brewery and the creation of a dedicated craft beer TV network.

Victory for common sense

The fifth round of Equity for Punks has raised more than £12m​ so far from over 25,000 investors across Europe and is due to close of 15 October 2018.

BrewDog co-founder James Watt said: “This is a victory for common sense. It is a triumph for all underdogs battling against corporate inflexibility and entrenched hubris.

“It is a win for the thousands of beer drinkers across the world that have been refreshed by amazing craft beer and have so passionately supported us over the past three years.

“This is a vindication of our belief in freedom and our dogged decision to appeal the initial ruling and not go gently into the night.”

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