Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing filed for a federal trademark last fall to gain exclusive rights to use the term “Nitro.”
Left Hand is currently the only craft brewery that bottles a nitrogenated beer.
Anheuser-Busch has requested and received an extension from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to file opposition.
Meanwhile, fellow Colorado brewer Oskar Blues has filed a trademark application this month for its Old Club Nitro canned beer.
The term nitro is used extensively in the industry for draft beers pushed by nitrogen and by some imports. It is unclear how Left Hand would defend the use of the term if they were to receive trademark approval.
Registering a trademark provides legal presumption of ownership of the mark and exclusive right to use it nationwide in connection with the goods and services listed in the registration.
Left Hand’s effort to trademark “Nitro” goes back years. More details on the story in the Denver Post online here.