Anheuser-Busch Opposes Mark

If you attempt to guess the #1 rated brewery in America, you may not guess Capital Brewery. However, this Wisconsin brewery was designated as America's top rated brewery in 1998 by Beverage Testing Institute's World Beer Championships. Since then, Capital Brewery has been using the slogan "America's #1 Rated Brewery" on mugs, t-shirts, and on their website. In September 2005, Capital Brewery filed a trademark application in the U.S. Trademark Office to register their slogan, the mark was allowed by the Trademark Office, and then published for opposition.

In response, Anheuser-Busch filed a 156-page challenge to the registration in early June 2007 alleging that Capital Brewery may not register "America's #1 Brewery." As part of their argument, Anheuser-Busch stated that many breweries may use Capital Brewery's slogan because trademark status is not applicable to merely descriptive or misdescriptive phrases. Anheuser-Busch emphasized that their opposition is not focused on challenging Capital Brewery's use of the phrase, but instead they oppose Capital Brewery's action to register the mark.

If Anheuser-Busch's argument does not convince the Trademark Office, then the Wisconsin brewery that makes merely 17,000 barrels of beer each year may obtain registration.