Five years after reaching an agreement, Ravinia Festival sues Ravinia Brewing over alleged trademark infringement

The Ravinia Festival, whose outdoor stage and rolling lawns come alive each summer with big-name musical acts, is suing Ravinia Brewing Company, a small Highland Park craft brewery within earshot, for trademark infringement.

Filed last month in Chicago federal court, the lawsuit alleges Ravinia Brewing, which sells whimsically named beers and tacos from its modest storefront taproom, violated a since-rescinded 2018 agreement to limit the use of their shared hometown moniker. The restriction was intended to minimize confusion between “world-renowned Ravinia” and a “local restaurant and bar,” the lawsuit alleges.

Ravinia Brewing Company failed to comply with the agreement and more recently “acted blatantly in disregard of the guidelines, further trading on — and infringing — Ravinia’s well-known registered trademark,” the nonprofit festival association alleges.

“This was the first time in five years that there was one single expressed concern from them about any brand confusion,” said Kris Walker, 47, a resident of the Ravinia neighborhood and a co-founder of Ravinia Brewing.

A Ravinia Festival spokesperson initially declined to comment before issuing a statement Wednesday evening.

“Ravinia had been in discussions with Ravinia Brewing Company about significant and unresolved concerns created by its infringement of our trademarks,” the Ravinia Festival spokesperson said. “Litigation was filed when it became clear the brewing company was not taking our concerns seriously. We remain open to an amicable resolution.”

When Ravinia Brewing was set to open its north suburban brewpub six years ago, its bubbles were nearly burst by the Ravinia Festival, which challenged the brewery’s right to share the name of the Highland Park business district made famous by the outdoor concert venue. The dispute became public, bringing both sides to the table to hammer out an agreement that allowed Ravinia Brewing to use the name, with certain limitations.

The craft brewery, which is also located within the Ravinia business district, allegedly overstepped by opening a second location in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood in 2021, “still using the name Ravinia, far from Highland Park,” according to the lawsuit.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges Ravinia Brewing has promoted live music at both of its venues, and introduced a music-themed beer, “Key Strokes,” trading on an implied association with the Ravinia Festival, among other violations.

The music festival rescinded the agreement in August before taking the matter to court, demanding the brewery stop making and selling beer under the Ravinia name.

In the lawsuit, Ravinia Festival points to five registered trademarks, the oldest of which covers entertainment services dating back to 1936, although it wasn’t registered until 2002. A Ravinia Festival trademark for restaurant services was first used in 1964 but was also registered in 2002. Additional entertainment and restaurant services trademarks under the Ravinia name were registered in 2011, with an internet entertainment trademark added in 2021.

Ravinia Brewing filed for its trademark in 2015.

Brett Tolpin, an intellectual property attorney and Ravinia native who has represented Ravinia Brewing in its legal battle with the music festival, said the Ravinia name is fair game.

“The word Ravinia is what we call in trademark law geographically descriptive, and it’s fair use for all to use,” Tolpin said. “It’s like using the word Chicago, nobody owns a geographic name.”

A board member of the Ravinia Neighbors Association, Tolpin ticked off a list of businesses and organizations that use the Ravinia name, including some that serve food and provide occasional musical entertainment.

Longtime North Shore businesses branded with the name range from Ravinia Plumbing to the Ravinia Barbershop. The space on Roger Williams Avenue now occupied by Ravinia Brewing once housed the Ravinia post office, and is next door to the former home of the Ravinia BBQ & Grill, a family-owned dining staple for three decades.

The Ravinia name itself refers to a 151-year-old community that was annexed into Highland Park in 1899, an incorporation predating the earliest incarnation of the outdoor music festival by five years.

First opened in 1904, the Ravinia Festival was initially conceived as a high-end amusement park with a music pavilion, dance hall, baseball stadium and other attractions to lure Chicagoans to take the train to the bucolic enclave north of the city. Incorporated in 1936, the nonprofit Ravinia Festival evolved over the years into a renowned outdoor venue that brought top musical acts across multiple genres to its concert stage every summer.

Its power and prestige made the Ravinia Festival a formidable adversary for the startup brewery in 2017. The renewal of the dispute this fall remains an existential threat for Ravinia Brewing.

Ravinia Brewing owners received an Aug. 23 notice from Ravinia Festival that they were in violation of the 2018 agreement and it was being rescinded. The brewery owners met with Ravinia Festival CEO Jeffrey Haydon and Board Chair Christopher Klein in mid-September, agreeing to a number of changes in a subsequent email in an attempt to address their concerns, Walker said.

The Ravinia Festival responded to the proposed action plan with another letter, calling it unacceptable. Walker said he then reengaged the services of his lawyer.

The disagreement escalated and on Oct. 25, Ravinia Festival filed the trademark infringement lawsuit.

While Ravinia Brewing has no formal relationship with Ravinia Festival, like many local merchants, it does promote food and beverage packages to take to the concerts. In addition to tacos, burritos and churros, the online combo box description includes a disclaimer: Ravinia Brewing Company is a separately owned entity and is not related in any way to the Ravinia Festival Association.

Walker said the name of the brewing company was an homage to his hometown, not an attempt to piggyback on the success of the music festival. The opportunity for organic synergy was lost when the Ravinia Festival tried to get a “Shark Tank”-like deal from the startup brewery more than five years ago, seeking a $35,000 sponsorship fee and 5% royalty on every beer sold.

Ultimately, they reached the agreement to limit the brewing company’s use of the Ravinia brand. Restrictions included making “Brewing Company” at least 28% the size of “Ravinia” on all packaging and signage, Walker said.

When Ravinia switched from 12-ounce to 16-ounce cans last year, it stretched the proportions of the logo slightly, with “Brewing Company” shrinking to about 26% of “Ravinia,” Walker said.

“We didn’t even know that had happened until they raised this,” Walker said. “That was part of the offer we made back to them, to immediately change it and make ‘Brewing Company’ 30% (as large), so we never have to worry about this again.”

Walker said Ravinia Brewing made the proportion correction before Ravinia Festival filed the lawsuit, but concerns about the cans went beyond the logo.

Ravinia Brewing features a selection of Chicago-brewed beers in colorful cans with equally colorful local-themed names such as “Diversey Station” and “Steep Ravine.” But the brewery allegedly crossed the line when it rereleased “Key Strokes” this summer, which includes the image of a pianist on a green-colored can that Ravinia Festival alleges “improperly links” the beer with the concert venue.

The “Key Strokes” beer is currently listed as unavailable on the Ravinia Brewing website.

Ravinia Festival also alleges in its complaint that Ravinia Brewing’s promotion of musical performances has “caused actual confusion in the marketplace.” The lawsuit cites summer appearances by Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras jazz students at Ravinia Brewing in Chicago as an example.

This past season, the Ravinia Festival presented a typically diverse all-star musical lineup that went beyond student musicians, featuring everyone from Santana and Jethro Tull to Carrie Underwood and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Walker said the brewery’s sporadic musical offerings are less ambitious.

“It tends to be a guy playing a guitar on a Thursday night,” Walker said. “That’s the extent of it. We haven’t done live music in Highland Park for two years.”

The lawsuit also alleges Ravinia Brewing is leveraging social media to show consumers drinking its products at Ravinia Festival events, “brazenly promoting itself” inside of the park and suggesting a sponsorship relationship that does not exist.

The social media campaign in question was a personal Facebook post by his wife, Jennifer, showing the couple drinking Ravinia beer at a Counting Crows concert in June, Walker said.

Walker called it the “most egregious” allegation in the lawsuit.

“The example they used was not from Ravinia Brewing’s social media platform,” he said. “It was a picture that my wife took of her and I while she was drinking one of our beers on her own personal page.”

The 11-count lawsuit includes allegations of trademark infringement and consumer fraud. It seeks to stop Ravinia Brewing from producing and selling beer under the Ravinia brand, force it to recall products from distribution channels and destroy any in its possession. Ravinia Festival is also seeking any gains derived from the sale of infringing products and undisclosed damages.

Giving up the Ravinia Brewing name, however, is not an option for Walker.

“The value of the brand equity that we’ve built into the Ravinia Brewing Company name, it’s not only financially significant, but it’s emotionally significant,” Walker said. “This is who we are. People see us around town, we’re the Ravinia Brewing guys. It’s a major issue.”

rchannick@chicagotribune.com