German Firm Wins Right to Make Beer Called "Fucking Hell"
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The village that inspired the name: Fucking, Austria
The EU's trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to brew beer and produce clothing under the name "Fucking Hell". It may be an expletive in English, but in German it could refer to a light ale – Hell -- from the Austrian town of Fucking. Whether it will be brewed there is another question.
The European Union trademarks authority has permitted a German firm to register the brand name "Fucking Hell" for a new beer, much to the irritation of the Austrian village of Fucking.
In English, the term "Fucking Hell" is just an expletive used to express irritation or surprise. In German, it could refer to a light ale from Fucking in Upper Austria, because "Hell" is a term for light ale in southern Germany and Austria.
The problem is that Fucking has no brewery, and the town's mayor, Franz Meindl, is not aware of any plans to build one there, Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported on its Web site.
The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union said in a statement that it had rejected a complaint that the trade mark "Fucking Hell" was upsetting, accusatory and derogatory.
"The word combination claimed contains no semantic indication that could refer to a certain person or group of persons. Nor does it incite a particular act. It cannot even be understood as an instruction that the reader should go to hell," the Office said in its statement.
EU Trademark Office Has No Problem with Name
"Fucking Hell" was an "an interjection used to express a deprecation, but it does not indicate against whom the deprecation is directed," the Office added. "Nor can it be considered as reprehensible to use existing place names in a targeted manner (as a reference to the place), merely because this may have an ambiguous meaning in other languages."
That is good news for German marketing executives Stefan Fellenberg and Florian Krause, who own the rights to the brand name, and who had referred to the town of Fucking in their application to register it.
Tittelconsulting, a marketing agency, said in a statement on Monday that the owners will use the trademark to manufacture a variety of products including clothing and beer. "It includes the marketing of a beer among other things," Tittelconsulting said in a statement.
The new brew was likely to be presented in August or September, it added. Contacted by SPIEGEL ONLINE, Fellenberg declined to give further comment, so it's unclear where the beer will be brewed.
It is likely to heighten Fucking's fame, which is something Meindl, the town's mayor, isn't happy about, given the trouble the name has caused it over the years. "Twelve or 13 town signs have been stolen. We've taken to fixing them with concrete, welding and rivets."
The Bavarian towns of Kissing and Petting have the same problem, as does the eastern German town of Pissing. But so far, there are no plans to name a beer after them.
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 When I saw this posted at another site I thought it was a joke ~ it is not a joke at all ~ Germans take their beer drinking seriously or at least this is my experience from the one or two chat buddies I have.
I am certain that "Pissing Beer" does have a place in the world wide market at least in the Gay Bars that I frequent
I have only seen it fresh from the "tap" and never bottled so this would be a first indeed :rotfl:
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It does seem like an April Fool's joke.
I'm not really sure about this as I can't find any reference to a proper news site or before 26 March 2010.
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Source <–--> hxxp://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,686305,00.html
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I read that article. I don't know Spiegel, maybe it's a legit news source.
Even if it's a legit news source, there's been a bunch of stuff that's been posted around the world that's an April Fool's on proper news sites.
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I personally love Google's annual April Fools jokes. Yesterday they were called "Topeka" instead of "Google" at their homepage.
For a list of ALL Google's jokes, see hXXp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%27s_hoaxes
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Maybe I should move this to jokes and funny stuff? I certainly found it funny as "Fucking Hell"
I thought maybe someone could verify if there is a Fucking ,Austria at least. The rest of it may be a hoax indeed. I just copy and paste the stuff that catches my attention. :whistle: -
Hey leatherbear – apparently this news story is TRUE.
See hXXp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fucking,_Austria for a description of the town. That article also mentions, "In 2009, the European Union's OHIM trade marks agency disallowed a German brewery to market a beer called "Fucking Hell". They sued, and on 26 March 2010 got permission to market the beer. They claim the beer is actually named after the Austrian village Fucking and the German term for pale lager, hell."
To see over a dozen news stories, see hXXp://news.google.com/news/more?hl=en&q=Fucking+Austria+%22Trade+Marks+and+Designs%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=dAPBBID-56aeXzMFNnsTwQbZqiaJM&ei=CV62S_XDGpT-8wTEkeHqAw&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&cd=1&resnum=1&ved=0CEAQqgIoADAA
One article said, "And the best part? The landmark decision creates an important precedent that will allow the use of other obscure, unfortunately named German towns in brand names. Citizens of Kissing, Pissen, and Titting: Watch out."
[off-topic]Personally, I would love to see Pissen merchandise.[/off-topic]
