In the ongoing battle between fast food chain Chick-fil-A and a Vermont folk artist trying to spread the green word with his “eat more kale” T-shirts, the vegetable loving crowd suffered a hit this week. The kale man says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has given him a “preliminary no” in his effort to protect the saying against Chick-fil-A’s complaints.

The man told the Associated Press that he’d expected his trademark attempt to get well, a more definitive response. Instead, he simply has six months to respond.

Chick-fil-A came out swinging back in 2011, claiming that “eat more kale” infringes on its trademarked slogan of “eat mor chikin.” Only two out of three words in those mottos match, but it seems that’s too close for Chick-fil-A’s comfort. Such an imposition for someone urge people to eat more green vegetables instead of chicken patties, right?

The state of Vermont is on its citizen’s side, as Gov. Peter Shumlin pledged his support to the kale guy’s campaign back in 2011.

Chick-fil-A has yet to comment on its rival’s latest setback. Back when the brouhaha began, lawyers for the company claimed the Vermont man’s properly spelled campaign “is likely to cause confusion of the public and dilutes the distinctiveness of Chick-fil-A’s intellectual property and diminishes its value.”

Vt. man’s ‘eat more kale’ T-shirt slogan gets ‘preliminary no’ in Chick-fil-A trademark fight [Associated Press]

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