Q: we're a brewery. if someone else trademarked our Company name, could they force us to pay them or stop using it?
A: Anyone can sue you, the question is can they win. In this case many pieces of information would need to be determined to tell if you would win or lose, including but not limited to when you started to use the name, when they started, date of trademark, was the name used continuously etc, etc. Get a lawyer if you think you may have a problem.
A: Yes, possibly so. Some facts that may come into play are who used the trademark first and what the associated goods and services are for the other company's trademark. Assuming the other company used the trademark first and is a similar line of business, they could likely force you to stop using the mark and/or pay them.
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