Legal action brought by BrewDog against Leeds bar

A proposed Leeds bar, Draft Punk, has faced the wrath of major bar chain BrewDog.

Draft Punk, the brainchild of music promoter Tom Green, faced legal action before it even opened its doors, after BrewDog’s “trigger happy” lawyers raised objections about its name.

BrewDog owns the trademark for “punk” in relation to beer, rather than bars or restaurants, but according to the Guardian, the bar chain’s lawyers – Glaswegian firm Lawrie IP – said that because Draft Punk plans on serving beer meant its trademark rights were infringed.

Green, who said that the name of the planned bar was a reference to Daft Punk, has given up plans for the site. He said that lack of funds prevented him taking his claim further.

In a letter, BrewDog reportedly told the entrepreneur that the name “could cause confusion in the marketplace” and that the bar would “take unfair advantage of, or be detrimental to” BrewDog’s own brands.

BrewDog launched a crowdfunded bar, ShuffleDog, in 2015 at Crispin House in Leeds, and also has a site at White Cloth Hall on Crown Street.

The company, which purportedly deplores the behaviour of major corporations, only recently had to defend itself after more legal action was brought by its lawyers against a brother and sister pair who wanted to open a bar called Lone Wolf.

After backlash, BrewDog and Lawrie IP were forced to back down, with chief executive James Watt blaming it on £trigger happy lawyers”.