More DoubleShot. Steven Roemerman was so upset by Starbucks suing his favorite local coffee shop that he decided to write them and complain. This is the form letter they sent him back:

Thank you for contacting Starbucks Coffee Company.

On March 20, 2006, Starbucks Coffee Company sent a Cease and Desist letter to Doubleshot Coffee Company in Tulsa, Okla. requesting that they stop using a variation of the Starbucks DoubleShot name and trademark.

While it is always Starbucks preference and desire to resolve disputes of this nature informally, whenever possible, we will seek the assistance of the courts to protect our trademark when we are unable to resolve the matter through alternate means.

Under trademark law, companies are required to take action against infringing uses of their trademarks. Even where it may seem playful, this type of misappropriation of a company’s name is both derivative and dilutive of their trademark rights.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to us.

Exactly the callous response you’d expect and Starbucks doesn’t actually attempt to argue whether or not a trademark on an industry term used in every coffee shop in the land flies in the face of all common sense. Why would they? It’s a handy weapon to put competitors out of business; the issue isn’t whether they are right, it’s not even who has the law on their side. It’s who can afford to fight the battle.

Starbucks Correspondence [Roemerman On Record]
Previous DoubleShot Coffee Vs. Starbucks Stories

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