When your brewery is threatened with legal action, the most sensible course of action is to change your name to “Elvis,” rather than hiring expensive lawyers, right?
At least that’s what the co-founders of BrewDog, a Scottish-based brewery, seem to think.
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James Watt and Martin Dickie received a copyright infringement notice from the Elvis Presley estate over the name of BrewDog’s “Elvis Juice” IPA (a blood orange- and grapefruit-infused beer, in case you were wondering). Their reaction? As of October 4, Watt and Dickie officially changed their first names by deed poll to ‘Elvis’.
Watt spoke to MUNCHIES and explained why they made the unusual decision: “There isn’t just one single person in the world called Elvis, so we added two more to make a point. Our grapefruit-infused IPA has no connection to the famous rockstar. We’re driven by the celebration of good beer and not the egos of late celebrities.”
And are they planning on keeping their new name?
Watt added: “Let’s see how it goes. I have become quite attached to my newfound ability to leave any building in style.”
It’s not the first time BrewDog has hit the headlines for controversial tactics. Last year, the co-founders came under fire for mocking trans people, sex workers, and the homeless in an advertisement for their crowdfunding campaign. Then there was further backlash over the brewery’s attempts to make amends with a “non-binary transgender beer.”
Questioned on the reaction to their name changes from the Elvis Presley estate, Watt said: “We haven’t seen or heard anything as of yet, but if those hound dogs wanna play, we’re game.”
Well, that’s one way to stick it to the King.
