Left Hand Seeks to Trademark “Nitro”

Dear Client: Now we know just how proprietary Longmont, Colorado's Left Hand is about their bottled "Nitro" lineup, which began in September 2011 with Milk Stout Nitro. Yesterday the Denver Post reported that Left Hand is attempting to trademark the "Nitro" term for use with beer, having filed for the federal trademark in September. Presumably, having the Nitro trademark would give the brewer power "to send cease-and-desist letters to other breweries arguing that its use by others might cause confusion."