The Beermat Blog

Thirstys.co.uk Limited a well established, UK based manufacturer of beermats, has rejected, what they argue amounts to a spurious and unfounded a claim by The Beermat Corporation Limited, over the use of the generic term ‘the beer mat company’.

UK registered, but Dutch controlled beer mat supplier, The Beermat Corporation Limited (”TBCL”), has attempted to claim a monopoly right to the generic term ‘the beer mat company’, insisting that Thirstys.co.uk Limited (Thirstys) use of the domain www.beermatcompany.co.uk, amounted to a case of ‘passing off’. In doing so, solicitors acting on behalf of TBCL, have attempted to secure assurances and claim rights to the domain’s www.beermatcompany.co.uk, www.beermatcompany.com and www.beermatcompany.eu, which have been registered to Thirstys since April 2006.

A spokesperson for Thirstys.co.uk Limited said, “Quite apart from the fact that we do not use the term ‘the beer mat company’ in any of our advertising, we find it incomprehensible that any company should be so aggorant as to try and claim monopoly rights over the term ‘beer mat company’ in what is quite clearly a generic term used by many companies to describe their activities within the beermat market. ”

Thirstys also flatly rejected a claim by TBCL that the use of domain names which include the words “beermatcompany” amounts to passing off. The Thirstys spokesperson added, “The temerity of the principals at The Beermat Corporation astounds us. To claim that Thirstys could be guilty of passing off is simply ridiculous, not least because we, quite clearly, would not try and pass ourselves off as a company that is a foreign controlled beer mat supplier, when we are actually a UK based, and controlled, manufacturer of beer mats. Quite apart from the obvious, our sites clearly include the well known Thirstys logo and repeatedly make reference to our company name. ”

Thirstys have been angered by the actions and claims of TBCL, which they see as offering up a weak, ill conceived, baseless and retaliatory response to Thirstys warning to TBCL, over their blatant use of the term “Thirsty” in their Google Adword advertising. Thirstys argue strongly that they have built up substantial value in the term Thirstys and the use of this term, is being used to target Thirstys customers, given, unlike The Beermat Corportation Limited, Thirstys.co.uk Limited is a UK controlled, uk based, manufacturer of beermats, whereasThe Beermat Corporation Limited, whilst being registered in the UK and claiming to be a manufacturer, is in fact operating from an accommodation address, has no manufacturing or print plant and is controlled from Holland.

A defiant Thirstys has made clear that, whilst they completely understand why a company may want to be associated with a well established and genuine UK based manufacturer of beermats, they cannot, nor will they stand idly by whilst any organisation attempts to capitalise on this by claiming exclusive rights to the term ‘beermat company’.

There are in fact just 4 manufacturers of genuine beermats in the UK, these organisation have UK based employees and at least one printing press, this list does not include The Beermat Corporation Limited, which is believed to use one of the UK beermat manufacturers to print its beermats.

Thirstys believe that the use, by The Beermat Corporation Limited of the website description, ‘The Beer MatCorporation Ltd are a[sic] manufacturers[sic] and printer [sic] of customised beer mats, drinks coasters and drip mats Based in Lancashire, UK’. is in itself misleading.  This is because, firstly, the generally accepted definition of a manufacturer is “a person or company in the business of manufacturing’ esp., a factory owner“. Whereas The Beermat Corporation Limited do not appear to own any print press in the UK and in fact, are understood to outsource the printing to one of the 4 UK manufacturers. Secondly, the suggestion that the company is based in Lancashire, whilst technically true, it is open to interpretation, because, whilst it may be registered in Manchester (not Lancashire), Thirstys understand that the business is actually using an accommodation address which is believed to be shared by up to 200 other companies. In addition, Thirstys has been unable to establish that there are any UK based employees of The Beermat Corporation Limited, though is says that it is prepared to correct this statement if this turns our to be incorrect.

The Thirstys spokesperson closed by saying “There are many genuine, UK based beermat companies in the UK and the vast majority offer an excellent service and do not find it necessary to describe themselves as beermat manufactuer. We welcome competition in the market, which helps create a larger market for beermats and ensures that we all kept on our toes. That said, we firmly draw the line on anyone attempting to claim an automatic right to domain names that use a generic term and we will, as always, protect our position”.

Firstly it is important to point out that the producers of fake beermats would argue that they are not fake, because they look and feel like a beermat. But of course that is where the similarities end, beermats that have been constructed and glued together simply do not have the inherent and relevant properties required of a genuine beermat which is made from pulp-wood.

Therefore, it is probably only fair that the facts are laid bare, in order that the consumers can make their own decision. Because not all constructed beermats will be put together in the same way, we must take a look at a typical constructed beermat, however, the frailties of this type of construction is likely to be similar no matter what.

Constructed Beermats

With constructed beermats, the artwork is printed onto standard paper stock on a normal paper print press, the finished paper is then glued on the top and bottom of some board (the constituents of the board will vary from supplier to supplier) and allowed to dry. These are then sold on as beermats.

Genuine Beermats

Because genuine beermats are constructed from pulp-wood, it is important; first of all, to point out what the board is made up from, given it is this process that adds value and practicality to the finished product.

Beermat board is produced from wood-pulp. The pulp is normally constructed from a mix of already recycled paper pulp (about 85%) and Scandinavian indigenous softwood. The softwood is typically purchased from forests that adhere to the sustainable forestry program where more trees are planted than are felled. This pulp is light brown in colour and unsuitable for printing purposes so a final sheet of chlorine-free bleached paper tops the bulk.

Once the pulp-wood board has been purchased, this will be litho-printed on a specialist print press that is capable of printing thicker board. Using a method dubbed work and turn, the board will be printed first on one side and then on the other. Once printed, the board will be left to dry to avoid scuffing. It will then be cut to size to produce the finished beermat.

How do they compare?

At a glance, both products will look similar, but when they are put to the acid test, this is where the differences will become more apparent.

When placed under a glass, the pulp-wood beermat will use its unique properties to soak up the droplets and the beermat will remain both presentable and useable. In fact, pulp-wood beermats are renowned for their durability in use, hence the reason they have been around for so long and are in such demand in pubs and clubs around the world.

Once again, the make up of the constructed beermat will vary, but the end results are likely to be similar. Because paper does not have the same absorbency properties of pulp-wood, in this experiment, the droplets will typically sit on top of the printed paper, taking some time to soak in. During this process it is likely that the print will streak and the paper may even come away from the board. In all likelihood, this will be a one use mat given, because the mat will look unsightly.

If you are looking for a durable beermat, then it would be sensible to ask for samples from the suppliers of constructed beermats and the manufacturers of pulp-wood beermats, then you can complete your own experiment.

Why would anyone buy a constructed beermat rather than a genuine pulp-wood beermat?

The answer is a relatively simple one, even if the reasoning is no longer as relevant today, as it was in the past.

Manufacturers of beermats print on a specialist pulp-wood board, which is a much thicker and has properties that are uniquely beneficial to the consumers of traditional use beermats. Whereas, paper that is going to be glued to board can be printed on virtually any paper stock and is often printed alongside other print jobs, this means that it costs considerably less to produce the print matter. In addition, because the beermat is constructed, there is no need for the printer to invest in a press capable of running a thicker board.

The net result was that the manufacturers of genuine pulp-wood beermats had to have high volume print runs to make the whole process financially viable and in order that they could sell the beermats at a price that was palatable to the end users.

Therefore, as a direct consequence of the two different print processes, in the past, it has been impracticable for the manufacturers of genuine pulp-wood beermats to produce short runs. However, this has changed as some of the more forward thinking beermat manufacturers have invested in ways of being able to produce much shorter runs, without the price premium normally associated with such orders. In fact, one UK beermat manufacturer, Thirstys, recently announced that they could supply just 25 litho-printed beermats, in full colour, on genuine pulp-wood board for less than £50!

Now that genuine pulp-wood beermats can be ordered for short runs, at a fraction of the price that would have been commanded in the past, arguably the future of the constructed beermat is in question. Why would anyone want to order an inferior product, from a practical use perspective, when a genuine pulp-wood beermat could be ordered for a similar or lower price?

Notwithstanding the above, no self-respecting landlord would accept a constructed beermat in place of a genuine pulp-wood beermat; they want their beermats to protect the bars, to prevent their patrons from having droplets fall on their clothes and to stop their bars and tables from getting wet! So, if you are planning to distribute beermats to the pubs and clubs in your area, it is probably sensible to give your local manufacturer of genuine pulp-wood beermats a call first.

Well beermats have been around for over 100 years, so they have a history most advertising media could only dream of and better still, they are functional. Genuine beermats are made from pulp board, therefore are 100% recyclable. Obviously the first companies to see the benefits of advertising on a beermat were the breweries and they continue to advertise their products on beermats to this day, in fact, they are the single highest consumer of beermats.

However, a more innovative approach to the manufacturing process means that virtually anyone can now use beermats to advertise their business, products or services. The new printing practices mean that beermats can be ordered in much smaller volumes and at a fraction of the price normally associated with short-run print orders. There are some excellent and well established beermat manufacturers based in the UK.

There are now some companies that are marketing pre-printed beermats with generic messages, perhaps ‘happy birthday’, meery christmas, or business and sales messages, such as the ‘customer is king’ or advice on how to pick up a heavy load from the floor etc. The uses are literally endless.

One regional police force in the UK even printed the picture of a man wanted for murder on a beermat. In fact the police appear to be regular users of beermats for campaign messages or information.

Another ‘innovation’, this time brought about by the purchasers of beermats is co-operative advertising, whereby one company will print their information on one side of the beermats and another company will print theirs on the reverse. Immediately the cost of the beermats has halved for both companies. Once again, there are few advertising mediums that can offer this level of flexibility. Added to which, genuine pulp-board beermats are fully functional and, depending on the design, as at home on the table in an expensive restaurant, as they are on the bar of your local.

So, there is plenty to write about beermats, you wait and see!