Sir, You Are Going to Have to Stop Using Your Name.

Sam Adams asked Sam Adams to stop using its name, which is his name, which they have the trademark to. Right.

In English: the Portland City Comm'r set up an election site called "samadamsformayor.com." The legal eagles at the NE brewing haven saw this an incursion into their territory, having previously fielded a samadamsforpresident.com as part of a marketing campaign. So the beer sent the man a cease-and-desist letter.

Highlights:
1. "Sam Adams", though merely a name, is protectible if it has acquired a brand identity separate from the name. (i.e. Hyatt, McDonalds). In the lingo, this is called "secondary meaning".

2. Mr. Adams's defense? I have been using it longer than you have. The brewer got the patent in 1973. The man, since the 60's. So-called "prior use" is a defense in trademark law, but it is limited by geography. That means that Mr. Adams can use his name legally in Portland. If he moves or goes national, that would change the equation significantly.

3. There is a first amendment political speech issue here that has not been raised.

4. Sam Adams was cool about it -- they admitted they didn't realize this was a person. They claimed others had tried to knock off the marketing campaign and that this was an effort to avoid a recurrence. Sam Adams -- say cool and avoid all the negative press.