Josh Gerben Explains the Stateside v Anheuser-Busch Lawsuit Dismissal to Inc

Last week, the lawsuit between Stateside Brands and Anheuser-Bush over the look of hard iced tea cans was dismissed.

Josh Gerben analyzed the dismissal for Inc. 

The case dismissal suggests that Stateside and Anheuser-Busch reached a settlement agreement, said Josh Gerben. Since settlement agreements are confidential, it is likely we will never know the terms, he noted.

Gerben told Inc that the case would have likely been difficult to win at trial since Stateside didn’t own any registered trademarks for the design of its cans. “If Stateside had existing registrations, it would have walked into court with the ‘presumption of federal ownership’ of the designs, making the evidentiary burden at trial easier.”

He also notes that the case highlights the growing trend of companies emulating the features of popular products, known as duping. The best way for a company to protect itself against dupes is to register trade dress, or the look and feel of its packaging, said Gerben.

“A federal registration on trade dress provides the ‘presumption of federal ownership’ of the packaging design and enables the trademark owner to seek enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees in litigation,” Gerben told Inc. “This can often act as a deterrent for would-be copycats.”

Source: Auerbach, Lucia. https://www.inc.com. “Surfside’s Owner Dropped Its Lawsuit Against Anheuser-Busch. What Ended the Fight May Never Come to Light”. 28 September 2026.