Fifty-three years ago, the Dodgers told the borough of Brooklyn to shove it up its nose with a rubber hose and lit out for the warmer climes of Los Angeles. Now they’ve returned — well, at least their lawyers have — to file a trademark infringement complaint against a local burger company for daring to use a similar font and the word “Brooklyn.”

The L.A. Dodgers (note: L.A., as in 3,000 miles away) have gone after the owner of Brooklyn Burger because they think the logo and name would somehow, possibly in some world, confuse people into thinking the burger company was associated with a team that hasn’t existed in over half a century.

The Brooklyn Burger logo was actually approved for trademark back in April, and yet the Dodgers have just filed their official complaint with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Brooklyn Burger’s lawyer tells Gothamist that the whole thing is just stupid:

People who see [Brooklyn Burger’s logo] in Brooklyn aren’t going to think the Brooklyn Dodgers are selling hamburgers… It’s crazy for the Los Angeles Dodgers to claim exclusive rights to the word ‘Brooklyn.’

If you check out the Brooklyn Burger site, you’ll see that the company is actually the official meat patty provider for a Brooklyn baseball team — the minor league Cyclones in Coney Island.

UPDATE:
A rep for Major League Baseball tells the L.A. Times that the complaint was actually filed by the league on the Dodger’s behalf:

We filed the complaint on behalf of the Dodgers… As MLB, we are obligated by law to protect our trademarks or we are at risk of losing them. We filed the notice of opposition with the trademark office in order to keep our options open. We are continuing to examine the situation.

L.A. Dodgers Sue Over Brooklyn Burger Logo [Gothamist]

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