Brewery loses battle against Elvis estate

STUART MACDONALD

Although Elvis Presley died in 1977, his name and likeness have been trademarked by Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which earns millions every year through a merchandising licensing programme. They objected after BrewDog applied to register the names ‘Elvis Juice’ and ‘Brewdog Elvis Juice’ as trademarks. Now the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), who rule on trademark disputes, has found in favour of the Elvis estate.

In a written ruling, trademark hearing officer Oliver Morris said: “Put simply, and notwithstanding that Mr Presley died nearly 40 years ago, he was/is such an iconic figure, that I would be very surprised if many people, including those at the younger end of the average consumer age spectrum, had not heard of him. There may be some exceptions, but this is likely