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Prince George’s Caribou Brewmasters must change name, says court

Caribou Brewmasters Inc., a Prince George-based U-brew, must change its name under...
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Tom Leboe from Pacific Western Brewing holds a can of Cariboo malt beer | Photo: Brent Braaten 

Caribou Brewmasters Inc., a Prince George-based U-brew, must change its name under a court-sanctioned consent order with beermaker Pacific Western Brewery.

The order, filed March 15 in BC Supreme Court in Prince George, says the operation has until July 25 to "change its name and the name and brand of its U-brew/U-Vin operation and its microbrewery operations, if any, including the names and brands used in marketing and labeling of its products."

On the surface at least, the development represents a turning of the tables. It all began in June 2011 when Caribou Brewmasters owner Jim Mullen filed a notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court contending the logo and brand for PWB's Cariboo Brewing line of beers is superseded by its own trade name and logo.

The matter was then taken to the Federal Court in August 2013 while a trial that had been scheduled for B.C. Supreme Court was adjourned. In February, the case before the Federal Court was "dismissed with prejudice and without costs."

The consent order was made on application by PWB and signed by the lawyers for both parties. It also states that Caribou Brewmasters' action be dismissed without costs to either side and that the consent order have the same force and effect as if it was a judgment following a trial.

PWB spokesman Dave Heffelfinger declined to comment on the outcome and Mullen did not return a phone call from The Prince George Citizen March 16.

Prince George Citizen