Marvel Comics Sets Lawyers On Thor’s Hard Cider

This is from bleeding cool so take it with a grain of salt.

Next week sees the release of Thor: Ragnarok.

And just in time, Marvel Comics are opposing the registration of a trademark for Thor’s Hard Cider.

That’s right, Marvel Comics are claiming trademark on an ancient Norse god, even when it comes to the brewing of fermented apples.

Thor Aamodt started Aamodt’s Apple Farm 69 years ago. Their website claims that he was a bit of a dreamer and always looking for ways to make the orchard better, different and more fun, and Thor’s Hard Cider is in that tradition, with Christopher and Andreas Aamodt, are the master brewers behind Thor’s Hard Cider.

One evening, a few Aamodt family members were debating our favorite local craft brews. We all agreed they were far better than ho-hum mass market beers. Then, we started thinking: What if we could do the same thing for hard apple cider? Late last fall we put the plan into motion. After harvesting the last of the apple crop, we put our traditional cider press into action for a whole new purpose: creating our own traditional hard ciders. We branded it Thor’s Hard Cider—after Thor Aamodt, our great-grandfather and founder of Aamodt’s Apple Farm.

As fourth-generation apple farmers, we Aamodt’s know our apples. And it turns out we have a natural ability to blend really great hard cider brews. Amazing things happen when you toss some Minnesota Honeycrisp mixed with tart Haralson and a few other varieties into the press—and then let the natural fermentation process do its magical thing.

Thor’s Hard Cider is authentic. Most mass-market hard ciders begin with preserved apple juice concentrate. Thor’s is made from fresh-pressed, full-strength, locally-grown apples with no preservatives. The entire process happens at our Stillwater, MN orchard. The apples are grown, harvested, pressed and brewed at Aamodt’s Apple Farm.

However that’s not enough for Marvel who publish the Mighty Thor comic and make the upcoming Thor:Ragnarok movie, featuring the superhero-ised ancient Norse God.

Linda K. McLeod of Kelly IP, LLP working for Marvel Characters has been granted until the 3rd of January to mount an opposition to this trademark. We’ll check back when we know more…

Personal Opinion. Regardless if they named it after their grandfather or the god Thor I don't believe Marvel should have a right to do this.

Eww BleedingCool...

Yeah they don't own the name, I don't see how they could possibly have a case.

If this is true, this is stupid. Marvel did not invent Thor, he's been a legend for centuries.

I don't see what Marvel's intent is with this lawsuit. A) They have little to no chance of actually winning. B) I doubt this will scare other companies away from using Thor imagery in their products.

Dumb.

Thor is in the public domain. Ridiculous.

I thought Thor was free to use? Like in theory, I create my own fictional universe revolving around Thor and his mythos if I wanted?