The St. Louligans, a St. Louis soccer supporter group, soon may not have the rights to its own name.
A Maryland Heights-based company is pursuing a trademark of “Louligan” and “Louligans” for a beverage for a project with an undisclosed company.
The 15-year-old volunteer group for years has struggled with bootleg merchandise that used its name and logo. That led the group to trademark the skull and crossbones logo and look into legal protection for the name “St. Louligans.”
That’s when the group learned Beck Flavors filed this April to use the name on behalf of an undisclosed company for nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
“We are concerned people will confuse that and see a drink with, frankly, our name on it and think that it has something to do with our efforts to support St. Louis soccer and help local charities,” said St. Louligans board member Sarah Robertson.
The group thinks it could win in court but is not going to try.
“We just don’t have the resources to go up against a company with deep pockets,” Robertson said.
If the St. Louligans decide to pursue a lawsuit against the beverage company, most likely the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will allow the beverage company’s registration to proceed, said Michelle Gross, director of the Intellectual Property Law Clinic at Washington University.
“Those products just typically aren't sold together, and so it's likely that the trademark office would probably approve that application,” she said.
Gross said if the St. Louligans decide not to pursue a lawsuit, the organization can continue using its name and logo without fear of infringement because of common law rights. However, if the group decides to sell beverages and has not previously done so, there could be a claim for trademark infringement.
A spokesperson for Beck Flavors said the trademark was purchased only for use in a beverage application. “At the request of a client, Beck Flavors pursued the beverage specific trademark for ‘Louligan’ and ‘Louligans.’ The trademark filing for our client is not for 'St. Louligans' and does not contain the skull and crossbones logo,” the company said in a statement.
Beck Flavors cited a nondisclosure agreement for not being able to “disclose the name of the client or reveal its plans for future product releases.”
St. Louligans are encouraging people to check its website to verify items for sale and events are legitimately from the group.
Robertson said the ordeal has become emotional for the all-volunteer group.
“Last year the city named a street after us, finally giving us some recognition for the community that we serve,” she said. “From getting a little bit of uplift from that and then going to this is just, it's heartbreaking.”
