Welsh brewery spends nearly £10,000 in battle with clothing giant over name
A Welsh brewery has been forced to spend nearly £10,000 defending itself against clothing giant Hugo Boss in a row over its name.
Multi-award winning brewery Boss Brewing, which is based in Swansea, applied to own the trademark of its name.
It is a procedure which should usually cost around £300 but after a four month legal battle with the retail chain, the company have forked out nearly £10,000 in solicitors' fees.
Hugo Boss, which had a net income of €236 million in 2018, issued a cease and desist letter to the brewery to try and stop it using the trade name.
''We had a letter from Hugo Boss saying we had to stop using it immediately,'' Sarah said.
''They were adamant they wanted to stop the name. They have got the Boss trademark in most areas but they have not got it in alcohol.''
After months of negotiations, it was resolved that the names of their award-winning beer Boss Black and Boss Boss would have to change.
''We were going back and forth with solicitors,'' Sarah said.
''I was determined and not willing to change it. But we had advice that discussions were as good as they were going to get.''
A spokesperson for Hugo Boss said the company wanted to avoid misunderstanding with brands which are their longstanding trademarks.