MUSKOKA BREWERY SUES MOLSON COORS OVER MUSKOKA CHAIR LOGO

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

BRACEBRIDGE — The iconic Muskoka chair is the centre of legal dispute between a local craft brewer and one of the world’s biggest brewers.

Muskoka Brewery announced today (June 27) that it has issued a claim in the Federal Court of Canada against Molson Coors Canada and Molson Canada 2005.

It’s laying claim to ownership of sitting in a Muskoka chair, beer in hand.

Muskoka Brewery is seeking relief for trade-mark infringement, depreciation of goodwill and passing off.

Muskoka Brewery asserts that its iconic chair logo is highly recognizable and has become synonymous for all the brewery stands for.

In a lawsuit that has not been tested in court, the Bracebridge-based brewer claims that on or about June 22, 2019, Molson Coors Canada and Molson Canada 2005 launched a campaign for a free Muskoka chair t-shirt in cases of Molson Canadian lager using an image that is alleged to infringe the Muskoka Brewery’s trademarks.

In its news release announcing the suit, Todd Lewin, pesident of Muskoka Brewery, stated that Muskoka Brewery took legal action against Molson Coors because: “We are proud of what we have built here in Muskoka and we need to protect what is ours. Our beer triggers real memories of enjoying a local brew sitting in a Muskoka chair on the dock. We don’t want beer drinkers to be confused on what beer they are buying and that we are somehow associated with a big multinational brewery.”

Muskoka Brewery is a leading craft brewer in Ontario, where similar small brewers are making inroads against the giants of the beer world.

For over two decades, Muskoka Brewery has been an independent craft brewer located in Bracebridge, Ontario.

It says while some craft breweries have joined forces with multinational beer companies, Muskoka Brewery has never wavered from their original roots.

Muskoka Brewery believes that the chair trademarks not only represent Muskoka Brewery beer itself; they represent the people who make the beer, and the community that has proudly supported the brewery for the past 23 years.