Ravinia Festival, Ravinia Brewing Settle Trademark Suit With A Name Change

I absolutely hate it when I have to write yet another “trademark bullying works” post. For the better part of a decade now, we have been writing about disputes between the Ravinia Festival Association, which operates the large outdoor concert venue and eatery north of Chicago, and Ravinia Brewing, a brewery based out of the same area. If you haven’t read those previous posts, there is one central fact you have to keep in mind in all of these stories. While both organizations operate out of what is now the suburb of Highland Park, that area was previously the incorporated Village of Ravinia. The village was eventually annexed into Highland Park in 1899, but the locals have retained the nickname for the area ever since. In other words, trademarks for “Ravinia” are, in large part, geographic marks.

But that didn’t stop the RFA from threatening the brewery shortly before it opened in 2018, claiming its name constituted trademark infringement. As a result of the threat from a much larger entity, Ravinia Brewing agreed to several restrictions in order to stave off any lawsuits, including how much of its beer cans could be taken up by the word “Ravinia”, restrictions on the opening of new locations, restrictions on putting on concerts, etc. In late 2023, the RFA claimed Ravinia Brewing had violated several of those restrictions, nullifying the agreement between the two organizations, and subsequently resulting in a trademark infringement lawsuit.

Now, I argued strongly that this is a fight worth fighting. The real original sin in all of this was the USPTO granting an overly broad trademark to the RFA for a geographic marker. Geographic markers typically enjoy more narrow protections than your average trademark, yet the RFA wielded its marks like a cluster bomb. And it seemed for all the world as though Ravinia Brewing was willing to fight this fight.

But in the end, trademark bullying works most of the time. Large organizations with sizable legal war chests can simply drain their victims either into non-existence or, in lieu of that, into submission. And that appears to be exactly what happened here as we learn that the trademark suit between these two has been settled.

Nearly one year after a trademark fight ended up in Chicago federal court, Ravinia Festival and Ravina Brewing announced a settlement Friday, with the craft brewer agreeing to rebrand.

While the terms of the settlement were not disclosed, Ravinia Brewing plans to abandon its hometown moniker while Ravinia Festival will both drop its trademark infringement lawsuit and help the brewery during the name change.

“After considerable discussions, we’ve reached a mutual agreement that puts our disputes behind us and enables us to both move forward,” Ravinia Festival and Ravinia Brewing said in a joint statement. “The agreement affirms Ravinia’s trademarks and provides that Ravinia Brewing Company will announce a name change and a new brand, with Ravinia providing assistance during the transition.”

This sucks for all kinds of reasons, but first among them is the “affirms Ravinia’s trademarks” piece of this. Those marks shouldn’t be affirmed at all. They should be canceled as being an overly broad geographic mark that the RFA has already proven it is willing to use in ways geographic marks shouldn’t be used. And one wonders now if this precedent set will lead the RFA to go on a bullying tour for any other local businesses that also use the former name for the area.

While other businesses, from Ravinia Plumbing to the Ravinia Barbershop, continue to share the name, the hometown brewery is expected to announce a new brand “soon,” Walker said.

Were I those businesses, I would be contacting counsel to see what dangers may lurk here.