Updated: Tue Dec. 02 2008 19:58:10

ctvbc.ca

The head of a small B.C. brewery which is being sued by Sleeman over its bottle design, calls the struggle "a real David and Goliath story".

Aldergrove, B.C.-based Dead Frog Brewery president Derrick Smith says Sleeman claims ownership of his company's clear glass bottle design.

Smith says his company started selling bottles back in June, and was served with papers from Sleeman shortly after. He calls the lawsuit silly and a giant waste of time.

"We're talking about a $4.3 billion dollar beer empire going up against a guy who still drives his 2001 F-150," he says.

Smith says there are many clear glass bottles on the market and that there's no mistaking his bottle's embossed frog design.

"Everything about our company is different," says Smith. "Our marketing, our packaging and - most importantly - our bottles."

Dead Frog's lawyer Christopher Wilson has filed a statement of defence and a counterclaim.

The statement claims that Sleeman does not have a monopoly on clear glass bottles and that the public is not likely to confuse the two beers because of Dead Frog's name, slogans, and logo.

A Sleeman spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Dead Frog brewery sells its beers in about 300 locations across B.C. The company started in Aldergrove, B.C. less than two years ago, and is said to be growing in "leaps and bounds."

With files from The Canadian Press

Please Add Comments(5)

Molly
They need to get their drink on and come to an agreement.

D Graham, Burnaby B.C.
30 years ago...yes I still remember.... almost every beer on this planet came in "Stubbies"!!!! a short brown ugly bottle. No matter the similar color of the bottle what mattered most was what was inside. It was difficult then to mistake the beer inside and I doubt it could be difficult today to differentiate between Sleemans and Dead Frog.

Ken Wiebe, Aldergrove, BC
I have been drinking DEAD FROG since its introduction into the market and I am shocked and confused as to why Sleemans would go after a small successful brewery like Dead Frog over an issue like 'clear bottles' when there are clearly MANY other choices in the liquor stores also in clear bottles! Is Sleemans going to sue all the other manufacturers using clear bottles? Coca-Cola and Pepsi are also in clear bottles. Do the little entrepreneurs in our Canadian Free Enterprise market need to be afraid of the corporate giants every time they want to start a new and original business? I say, Leave the little guys alone so I, the Canadian Consumer, can do what I do best... Drink Excellent Beer!!
Ken Wiebe
Aldergrove, BC

Jim Ross
Too bad, I'll miss Sleeman's fine beers but I cannot support a firm that behaves in this manner. I guess I'll be giving Dead Frog my business.

BJ Copp
I am sick of large companies flexing there corporate muscle because they think that they can, ultimately people decide what beer to buy, For me it may not be Dead Frog, (although I am going to try it now), but I can assure you that it will not be Sleemans.