Guns N’ Roses settle trademark suit with brewery

US rock band Guns N’ Roses have settled a trademark claim it filed earlier this year against a Colorado-based brewery.

In a filing on Monday, August 12 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Guns N’ Roses and the brewery, Oskar Blues, said they had reached an agreement that resolves all claims in the band’s original complaint.

Guns N’ Roses had sued the brewery in May for trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition over the sale of its ale, and other merchandise bearing the name ‘Guns ‘N’ Rosé’.

Guns N’ Roses said the sale of merchandise, including t-shirts, buttons, and stickers traded of its fame and goodwill and would confuse consumers into thinking the brewery was connected to the band.

In their original complaint, Guns N’ Roses said that aside from its registered trademarks, they also acquired common law rights in the ‘Guns N’ Roses mark’.

It said that in August 2018, the brewery had applied to register ‘Guns ‘N’ Rosé’ as a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office. Following this, the rock band sent the brewery a letter requesting that it cease use of the mark on all goods.

But, the brewery denied Guns N’ Roses’ claims.

Additionally, the band said it was telling that the brewery did not contend that Oskar Blues was not aware of the Guns N’ Roses trademark at the time it began to use ‘Guns ‘N’ Rosé’ on its products.