'Elvis' beer needs to find a new name, says U.K. judge

The BrewDog Brewery lost its battle against the Elvis Presley estate. (Reuters)

A Scottish brewer has lost its battle to give a best-selling beer the same first name as one of the most popular musicians in history.

Last week, the U.K. Intellectual Property Office ruled that BrewDog must change the name of its grapefruit-infused Elvis Juice IPA after attorneys for Elvis Presley Enterprises objected to the brewer applying to register "Elvis Juice" and "Brewdog Elvis Juice" as trademarks, the Daily Record reports.

The Scottish brewers launched the IPA in 2015 and it quickly became a best-seller. Not long after, however, attorneys for the Presley estate sent them a copyright infringement notice.

In response, BrewDog co-founders James Watt and Martin Dickie legally changed their first names to "Elvis" in October 2016. "There isn't just one single person in the world called Elvis, so we added two more to make a point," Watt told Munchies at the time.

Despite those efforts, hearing officer Oliver Morris ruled last week against the brewers, saying, "On the basis that Elvis is a relatively uncommon name, and given that Mr. Presley is the most famous of Elvises, I consider that most average consumers, on seeing the name Elvis alone, are likely to conceptualize that on the basis of Elvis Presley."

In addition to losing the name of one of its most popular products, BrewDog must also pay the Presley estate $1,934 in court costs. (In related news, Priscilla Presley recently reflected on why she left Elvis.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: "Brewery Loses Fight With Elvis."