Vampire Pale Ale vs. Vampire slayer beer

IN 2013, Vampire Brands and TI Beverage group sued Clown Shoes Beer alleging that the latter's beer, "Vampire Slayer," infringed upon the former's trademark for "Vampire Pale Ale." Although the distribution of "Vampire Pale Ale" began after  after "Vampire Slayer," the trademark for "Vampire Pale Ale" was registered first. A claim of trademark infringement requires establishing a likelihood of consumer confusion to win. Clown Shoes felt they had a good argument that (and Vampire Law agrees) it would be very difficult to establish a likelihood of consumer confusion because 1)  Vampire Slayer is an American Imperial Stout and Vampire Pale Ale is a Belgian Pale Ale, therefore they differ in both country of origin and type of beer, and 2) the names and labels are different. Nonetheless, Clown Shoes was advised that proceeding in defending the lawsuit, even if they won, would cost $300,000-$400,000. The parties settled before trial, and the agreement included a license for Clown Shoes to continue selling their Vampire Slayer beer. Nonetheless, they decided to change the name of their beer to "Undead Party Killer." 

http://www.clownshoesbeer.com/uncategorized/11334/