A MillerCoors archivist may have driven a stake through the heart of Stone Brewing Co.‘s lawsuit contending that MillerCoors violated Stone’s trademark for “stone” in connection with alcoholic beverages.
Archival evidence shown in court confirmed that MillerCoors used “stone” in advertising for Keystone Light just a couple of years after the economy brand debuted in 1989. Stone Brewing was founded in 1996.
Molson Coors lawyers showed cases of beer, some still full and unopened, and dozens of marketing and advertising proofs to bolster its contention that even before Stone Brewing was founded, MillerCoors used “stone” to build up interest in its brand. Among the items: a large, plastic, blue and lime green wall clock with the words, “Time to party with the stone,” in its center. The clock dated to the 1990s.
“The Keystone family of brands has consistently used the term ‘30 stones’ since 1995 to current, there is other evidence and material from the archive that consistently uses the term ‘stones,’” MillerCoors archivist Heidi Harris testified.
The company didn’t begin using the word “stone” on packaging consistently until it introduced a 30-pack of Keystone Light in 1995, she said. “This is an introduction pack, so they want to make it big and different compared to the other packaging that’s on the market,” Harris said of the 1995 packaging which featured a gold sunburst with the words “Six Extra Inside” in large font.
She displayed T-shirts featuring NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach Jr.;s red race car with the word “stone,” and a poster of Dallenbach from 1992 contained the phrase “roll with the stone.”
On cross-examination, Stone Brewing’s attorney got Harris to concede that Keystone Light was rebranded in 2017 to center its branding around “stone.”