Cropton Brewery beer label case adjourned

CROPTON brewery, based near Pickering, was banned by the Ministry of Defence from using the Yorkshire Regiment’s cap badge to help raise money for a soldiers’ charity.

However, the brewery continued to use the design, which includes a stylised Yorkshire rose, on its Yorkshire Warrior beer bottles, the High Court in London was told.

The white rose is at the heart of a legal battle between Cropton and Samuel Smith’s Brewery of Tadcaster, which says Cropton’s is so similar to its own Yorkshire rose symbol that it infringes trademark rights.

Lt Col David O’Kelly, regimental secretary of the Yorkshire Regiment, whose benevolent fund benefits from Warrior sales, said the regimental cap badge was a trademark owned by the Defence Secretary.

Phil Lee, who runs Cropton Brewery, accepted he had infringed the MoD’s rights, but contested infringing Sam Smith’s rights as the rose is the symbol of Yorkshire.

Samuel Smith’s claims it is an infringement of its trademark and confusingly similar to its rose which it has used since the 1960s.

Mr Justice Arnold reserved judgment after both sides had given closing speeches. His decision is expected shortly.