December 10,2018:

Phyllis Schlafly, US activist,and lawyer known for her conservative views and responsible for making the Schlafly surname popular, lost an appeal against Saint Louis Brewery LLC in Missouri for trademarking the name ‘Schlafly’.

The Saint Louis Brewery, which is famous for the brewing of Schlafly Beer and was co-founded by Tom Schlafly and his relatives, they had filed for trademark registration in 2011.

Phyllis Schlafly was Tom’s aunt and when the appeal for the trademark was filed, various family members along with Phyllis herself were against it.

Phyllis Schlafly and her son Bruce Schlafly claimed that trademarking the Schlafly name for beer could hurt the family reputation by associating them with alcohol.

Andrew Schlafly, another son of Phyllis and also their lawyer said, “It’s unusual for a company to try to trademark a prominent surname such as this”. He also added,” The law says words that are ‘primarily merely a surname’ should not be trademarked.”

Although Phyllis passed away in 2016, the legal battle was carried onwards by his sons. The brewery founder, Tom Schlafly said, “Since we began selling beer in 1991, the Schlafly name has been our connection to our consumers. The trademark allows us to ensure that the trusted product is protected for years to come.”

Few weeks ago, the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in favor of Saint Louis Brewery, ending the years-long legal battle.

Judge Pauline Newman said that the name had acquired a “secondary meaning and distinctiveness” through sales of Schlafly beer and that surnames could be trademarked when that occurred.

To visit, Trademarkclick.com, Click Here

Picture Source :