Hugo Boss defends its legal challenge against brewery

FASHION giant Hugo Boss has revealed the reason why it took on a Welsh brewery over its name. Boss Brewing, based in Swansea, was forced to shell out nearly £10,000 defending itself in a four-month legal battle against the clothing titan, which had a net income of £218m in 2018.

It came after owners Sarah John and Roy Allkin were hit with a cease and desist letter by the brand after they applied to own the trademark of the brewery’s name, a procedure which should usually cost £300.

After months of negotiations, it was resolved that the names of the brewery’s award-winning beers, Boss Black, and Boss Boss, which is one of its highest selling products in supermarkets, would have to change. The brewery cannot sell clothing any more, either.

A spokeswoman for Hugo Boss has now explained the move was to avoid “conflict and potential misunderstanding”.

“Following the brewery’s application to register a trademark, we approached them regarding the use of Boss in relation to two beer names in the portfolio,” she said.

“This was to avoid conflict and potential misunderstanding regarding the brands Boss and Boss Black, which had been used by the brewery but are (longstanding) trademarks of our company.

“The discussions clarified the situation

in respect of these two brands as well as in relation to textile merchandising for the future.

“The brewery is able to proceed with the majority of its products without impact on its current branding.”

Boss Black will now become known as Boss Brewing Black, while Boss Boss will become Boss Bossy.

Ms John revealed how the brewery currently had pallets’ worth of Boss Black, for which they would have to change the labels.

They will also have to get rid of hats and T-shirts.

She said: “This has been a horrible experience, and so stressful.

“We have worked so hard to create all of this and what should have been a simple process ended up making us question whether everything was going to be OK going forward in the future and whether we were going to lose everything.

“At the moment we are investing in a new bottling line and that money wasted in legal fees could have been invested in new kit.

“I understand brand identity; you have to look after your brand.

“But I think it’s a bit unnecessary that this massive clothing company has gone after a small brewery.”