Big Bullies - Part I

Sam Adams the beer co. (Boston Beer Co.) has issued a cease and desist statement and is bullying Sam Adams (the Mayoral candidate for Portland, Oregon) on using their registered trademark name, Sam Adams. Apparently, he can not use his name in any similar fashion that bears the name Sam Adams during his campaign. But, as the letter states they may consider letting him use his name after the campaign. "They say they've been using this trademark since 1984," Adams said "I've been using it since 1963."

Boston Beer Co.'s Helen Bornemann she didn't know there was a real Sam Adams running for mayor when she sent the letter. The brewery has previously run "Sam Adams for President" marketing campaigns, albeit 200 years to late, and she said she feared someone was ripping them off. Bornemann said she is willing to discuss Adams' use of his name on his websites "probably for the length of the time the election is being held."

The colonial Sam Adams, a second cousin to former president John Adams, inherited the brewery and flew it into the ground a few years later.

You can view Sam Adams (the mayoral candidate) website at: www.samforpdx.com