Better not use a green circle for your coffee shop logo because Starbucks has lawyers and they’ll sue ya. Conga Coffee & Tea, a small two-store operation in Michigan, is being threatened with a lawsuit because their logo bears “striking resemblance” to Starbucks’ famous mermaid logo. At least that’s what Starbucks says.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Starbucks claims that the Conga logo is “likely to cause consumers to think that Conga is an authorized licensee of Starbucks.”
Conga’s customers aren’t confused.
“It says ‘Conga’ right there on the sign,” Denise Reedy, 41, said as she sipped a German chocolate latte at the Mt. Clemens shop Thursday. “There’s not much chance I’m going to get confused.”
The owner says he isn’t trying to copy Starbucks, and that the logo has always been the same:
Dregiewicz said Starbucks’ worries that he is trying to emulate the chain are ironic.”Our customers hate their coffee,” said Dregiewicz, 51, who has owned the 11-year-old Mt. Clemens Conga since February. “My sign is round and green and always has been. It’s not even the same shade of green as theirs.”
So far, 250 customers have signed a petition in Dregiewicz’s shop in hope that it will convince Starbucks that Macomb County residents know the difference between the coffeehouses.
If it really took Starbucks 11 years to notice the resemblance, how striking can it be?
Shop’s logo bull’s-eye for Starbucks lawyers [Detroit Free Press via Starbucks Gossip]
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@gniterobot: If it went 11 years without anyone being confused, or anyone complaining, I think that’s pretty good evidence that this is yet another case of stupid lawsuit syndrome — not being happy enough with what you have, and so trying to extort someone’s money out of them for no work.
There was a woman named Samantha Buck is Astoria who had a cafe named “Sam Buck’s.” She was sued by Starbucks and no longer can use her own name as part of her business.
@cde: Taking a court to trial is a risky deal. It’s also expensive. Conga could let this thing go through, and counter-sue for court and attorney costs. But the bottom line is, why bother? Two stores, change the signs and post the letters from Starbuck’s legal team underneath a photo of the storefront with the old signage.
Keep giving Starbuck’s that black eye every day of the week. Start taking Starbuck’s coupons and cutting up their coffee cards for a discount. You won’t change the world, but they will steal customers away.
If the consumer is color blind and cannot read and has thinks a wierd looking woman and elephant are similar then I can see how it can be trademark infringement.
@lincolnparadox:
Ha! I can see it now… a paper shreder and a big sign near the cash register:
“Put your Starbuck’s loyalty card through the shredder and get a free coffee!”
That’s ruthlessly brilliant!
The sign isn’t close enough in my opinion.
Starbucks should sue themselves now for acting like a bully and damaging their own image.
Damn…so finally, my inability to distinguish elephants from mermaids comes back to haunt me. What a world, what a world. (And those little symbols on the logo that you humans call “words” are all different too).
Starsucks.
i dont understand, starbucks is suing itself… Oh, wait. that’s not a starbucks logo!
Hmm, even more reason for me to stop into Conga whenever I’m in downtown Mt. Clemens…
Aunt Hilda has some sort of growth that is round & green on her cheek and she’s been around a lot longer than Fourbucks. Maybe she should sue them for copying her birthmark!
There weren’t even any Fourbucks franchises in the Mt. Clemens area until just last year, and the closest one is over 4 miles away from Conga Coffee.
I say to hell with Starbucks, side with the independant guy.
Wait, I’m confused… why would a huge business conglomerate like Starbucks pick on a small two store operation with bullying litigation?
How is an elephant, the words CONGA, COFFEE, and TEA anywhere near a black and white doped up mermaid and the words STARBUCKS? Way to go Starbucks for assuming people can’t read or think for themselves. Clearly they assume everyone is stupid.
One more reason to not go to Starbucks. At least Walmart doesn’t try to sue the little guys out of existence.
@vladthepaler: They just carefully plot their store locations and let people do the rest :-p
Coffee is worse than crack-cocaine, meth, and cigarettes combined. People who drink it everyday don’t even realize how mood altering it is.
Plus it’s a tool of corporate slavery.
Enjoy your latte!
@darkened:
This.