Rogue’s Dead Guy might get a new lease on life. Roughly nine months after Rogue Ales & Spirits’ parent company Oregon Brewing filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, companies are vying for Rogue’s intellectual property (IP).
U.K.-based digital marketing agency Silver Scope Media Ltd made a $400,000 bid, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon is accepting offers through Aug. 21. Competing bids are required to top Silver Scope’s proposal by $40,000.
Oregon Brewing estimated the craft beer brand’s IP at $2 million in its valuation of assets, according to Brewbound. Rogue’s IP assets include its website domain; all confidential information, including recipes, manufacturing, specifications, and quality control; biological strain and propagation rights of Rogue’s proprietary yeast; social media accounts; and trademarks, including that of its famed “Dead Guy” IPA.
The search for a buyer of the IP comes five months after Rogue’s bankruptcy liquidation auction, which saw a firesale of its tangible assets like unitanks, hoses, and other brewery equipment.
Oregon-based Valley View Winery filed an objection to the parent company’s intent to sell the IP, as it claims it maintains a “perpetual license” for the rights to Rogue’s wine and wine-based beverages. The winery’s filing states that it trademarked Rogue in 1983, though they reached a settlement agreement with Oregon Brewing in 1997 that gave it rights to the brand’s beer products.
Oregon Brewery’s filing for Chapter 7 came as a shock to the craft beer industry. Rogue abruptly shuttered its distillery and taprooms before citing $17 million in debts against roughly $5 million in assets. Former employees fired back at the parent company for giving little notice of the layoffs and violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
A hearing for the potential sale and any associated objections will take place on Aug. 26.
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