2007-02-19

Hamilton's Lakeport Demands Website Survey Pulled

BY STEVE ARNOLD

Hamilton's Lakeport brewery is trying to shut down an Internet survey of local beer drinkers.

The unscientific poll asks consumers whether they'd continue to drink Lakeport products if the local brewery is closed after it is sold to Labatt.

Lakeport's lawyers are demanding the website be shut down because it infringes on the company's trademarks.

"You have to protect your trademarks," Lakeport CEO Teresa Cascioli said. "You can't amuse yourself at the expense of a brand and its trademark."

At the heart of the dispute is the website hamiltonbeer.com and its three-click survey asking if local drinkers would punish Labatt by switching brands if the Hamilton plant is closed. Labatt, which has said it plans to grow the Lakeport brand, has already closed two breweries in recent months citing excess production capacity.

The Burlington Street brewery is owned by an income trust. Earlier this month Labatt offered unitholders $201.4 million for the company. Analysts have said the offer is a move to eliminate a pesky competitor which carved out market share with a "buck a beer" strategy. Cascioli, who owns 21 per cent of the company, stands to make about $40 million in the deal.

Mike Manzoni, whose company Floodgate Marketing created the site with Ancaster-based LinxSmart, said he was surprised by Lakeport's reaction to what he admits is an unscientific poll with no statistical validity.

"This started as a discussion over a few beers about what was going to happen to Hamilton and to Lakeport," he said. "I really don't think a site like this is going to get in the way of her $40 million."

Manzoni, who was drinking a Lakeport product that night, said he's getting legal advice of his own and if it's decided anything on the site does infringe Lakeport's trademarks it will be changed, but the site itself won't be closed.

Used with permission from The Hamilton Spectator, www.thespec.com Copyright The Hamilton Spectator. All rights reserved.