COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Trademark lawyers are representing a Michigan bar free of charge after Ohio State University challenged the name of its draft “Buckeye Tears.”
The Brown Jug, an Ann Arbor-based bar near the University of Michigan campus, offers Buckeye Tears for $7. The Brown Jug applied and begun the approval process to trademark the term for beer and liquor, but Ohio State filed a formal opposition to halt the trademark.
Ohio State keeps its No. 1 ranking going into final bye week
“Consumers, particularly within the Midwest, inherently associate the term ‘Buckeye’ with OhioState and the Ohio State Services, including its athletic programs,” OSU said in a filing.
Fenwick law firm partners Todd Gregorian and Eric Ball are confident in their defense and took the case on pro bono. Gregorian was a patron of the Brown Jug as a law student at the University of Michigan, and the pair seized the opportunity to give back by representing The Brown Jug…