We often have clients asking about using weak versus strong marks. This usually comes up because they want to use a descriptive mark and are asking why they shouldn’t. There are legal arguments to be made, but I find the most useful framing is about how the client wants to spend their money. And this … Read more
The history of beer is strewn with styles you’ve never heard of. We all know about pilsners, and IPAs, and stouts, and ambers. But what about wit, a fizzy yellow Dutch beer made with coriander and grains of paradise? Or gruit, a Northern European style brewed with pine, sweet gale, or mugwort? Or T’ej, an … Read more
When we wed a few years ago, I like to think my wife was aware she was getting hitched to an eccentric fella. What she might not have appreciated was that I was soon to start my next semester of law school by learning about trusts and estates, where I would discover Wisconsin’s marital property … Read more
As many of you know, a significant portion of the work OG+S does is dedicated to the federal and state permitting that is required to open and operate a new brewery, brewpub, winery, or distillery. Inevitably, after the Federal (TTB) and State (DOR) permits are received, many clients ask, “Do I need a license from … Read more
On January 1, 2022, copyrighted works from 1926 will enter the US public domain. That means that anyone can copy, share, and build upon that work, but it doesn’t mean the public can do the same for things that are already derived from the original. What do I mean by that? Well, the first Winnie-the-Pooh … Read more
Andrew joins OG+S fresh out of law school with a background in working with clients in the entrepreneurial business and intellectual property spaces. He hopes to focus his work on IP matters, as well as being a passionate advocate for business clients with an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for their community. Prior to law … Read more
To help you address our recommendations in the blog entry from two weeks ago, we created this checklist for you to align your documents with your goals and reality (if you are reading this in an email, you may have to go to the website to see the graphic). We’re excited to see you get … Read more
It’s a Wonderful Life is by far my favorite Christmas movie. It might just be the overall sentimentality of the film that does it for me, or it might have something to do with me playing Ernie in my high school’s production of it (I promise I looked a little less grainy all those years … Read more
It is the end of the year, which means many of you are setting goals for 2022. Good for you! But it is also the time to make sure that your internal realities align with those goals. Goal setting is fabulous. Creating new action steps is fun and while reviewing what you have may not … Read more
