TORONTO — The Tragically Hip are suing a Toronto brewery for alleged trademark infringement in the promotion of its 100th Meridian lager.
The legendary Canadian band has filed a suit in Federal Court against Mill Street Brewery, a subsidiary of Labatt, which is owned by Belgian multinational brewer AB InBev.
The Tragically Hip allege in legal documents that Mill Street has tried to “pass off on the fame, goodwill and reputation” of the band.
“Many of you are probably under the impression that we are associated with Mill Street’s 100th Meridian beer – we are not,” the band said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
“At The Hundredth Meridian” was a hit single on the Hip’s 1992 album “Fully Completely.” Its title refers to the line of longitude that marks the beginnings of the Great Plains.
The band alleges in social media posts that Mill Street tried to associate the 100th Meridian Lager with the band, including posting photos of the beer can with the group’s albums in the background.
The group also says it tried to sort things out with Mill Street for months but were unsuccessful.
“They didn’t take us seriously and were frankly disrespectful,” the band said in its statement. “We have been around for a long time, and have always been able to work things like this out without a lawsuit. Unfortunately, not this time.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2021.
