Alamo Beer Co. LLC v. Old 300 Brewing LLC

Texas has filed a motion to intervene in Alamo Beer Co. LLC’s trademark infringement suit against Old 300 Brewing LLC, asserting that the state has the exclusive rights to the “Alamo” mark.  Alamo Beer’s alleged that Old 300 Brewing (doing business as Texian Brewing Co.) infringed on its mark by using the silhouette of the Alamo on beer labels, which image Alamo Beer has used and federally registered as a trademark for beer labeling since 1997. The State of Texas argues that it has registered and common law rights (dating back to at least 2011) to the use of the Alamo Mission’s likeness in commerce and recently began registering the Alamo silhouette in a variety of categories, including blankets, apparel, jewelry, leather goods, digital media, packaged foods, museum services and most recently, bottled water. Rather than arguing consumer confusion, Texas  asserts that the Alamo mark is famous, and use of the mark by anyone else in any category would dilute it.