Corona owner: we have opposed 100 trademark applications

The brewing company that owns the Corona beer brand has taken action against around 100 trademark applications since the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year, a senior in-house lawyer for the company has revealed.

Federico Bueno Icaza, global IP director at AB InBev, says there has been a significant uptick in trademark enforcement activity as the company seeks to protect the Mexican brand from potentially infringing and opportunistic applications.

Icaza believes he has taken action against roughly 100 applications containing the term ‘Corona’ since February.

“Generally the number of applications [that require action across all brands] tends to fluctuate. But this is a very specific problem – we are probably dealing with about 10 to 15 applications per month,” he tells Managing IP.

Icaza believes the ‘Corona’ trademark – and overall brand, which has been in the market for almost 100 years – is strong.

“In our view, it’s a very strong trademark with a very distinctive trade dress. The longneck transparent bottle, the printed (not stickered) label and its gold colour and crisp taste all contribute to its overall success as a brand.”

Icaza was speaking to Managing IP as part of a wider interview on AB InBev’s IP strategy. The full interview, in which we also speak to Pieter van den Bulck – another global IP director and in charge of AB InBev’s European matters – will be published this week.  

Share this article