Trademarks of RL products

OK... I've read lots of older posts about use of tradmarked items in SL so I know it is a contentious topic... and I see merit on both sides of the argument.

But here is my situation. I have worked in an SL club as a bartender. So I can tell you from experience... when you ask if people want a drink, nobody asks for a beer.

They ask for their favorite kind of beer. And they are really bummed if you don't have it.

This is only reinforced by the fact that many if not most clubs in SL have beer taps with beer names and/or logos attached to them that dispense beer to your inventory that does go by the real beer name. So if there is trademark abuse, and I'm certain that there is, it's obviously rampant.

Now I'm trying to sell an automated bartender in SL and on slexchange. This bartender works by using a listener to hear requests for drinks in general chat and making the drink if it finds it. So, while I could use a knockoff name for a beer like Budwiser or something... it wouldn't really help because nobody would ask for one. I guess I could listen for the real name and give the knockoff... but I'm still trying to go for a realistic user experience.. that doesn't seem to fit the bill for me.

So, I'm wanting to include brand named beers in the bartender. And I want to include a logo from the beer on the glass I serve the drink in, not because I want to profit from the use of the trademark per se. I just want to have the actual beer people like available. And if I'm going to include the brand... I want to make the simulated experience of drinking that beer as good as possible. Hence the use of the logo.

As for whether the drinks I am making are a cheap knockoff... I'll let you decide. You can see a sample of what I'm making at http://www.nwasells.com/images/mybeer.png

I don't want to run afoul of trademarks... but I'm trying to find a middle ground.

Coca-Cola apparently released their trademark for use in SL recently (see http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/06/28/coca-cola-gives-away-its-trademark-in-sl/ ). So... that is great if I want to include coca-cola... which I may....

But is there any kind of comprehensive list of other brands that have also given free use of their logos?

If not, I don't know exactly what to do... I'm contemplating making a pack of just named brand beers and giving it away instead of selling it. Like I said, I'm not so much looking to profit from selling the drink. I just want a way to have a high quality product that people want in my bartender units.

Anyone got useful advice on this?

People in Second Life will always use Trademarked names until they start cracking down hard on them.

That doesn't make it Legal or correct though, we can't decide for you.

Consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.

Just for information, however, this is trademark infringement if the trademark owner hasn't granted permission. Even "Budwiser" is probably infringing.

Could you offer your product for sale and then you can have the 'add-on' pack (which is the labeled beer) that is usable in a different form but it can be integrated easily to use with your product?

Yes... whether I actually sell the beer add-on pack or make it available free, it will be all the beers and a script together... so the beers could either be just taken and moved to inventory, or they could be added to the bartender or pocket bartender easily.

If someone wanted to, they could just buy the drinks.

You could always create your own virtual beer call it whatever. Call your beer "Beergutizers" over image of pixelated dude with his beer gut showing.
There is no trademark on that, that I know of. It not like our avatars can taste anything they don't know its not the brand we drink in real life.