Two fast food chains with dedicated fanbases are set to square off in a courtroom over Smashburger’s new Triple Double cheeseburger, which In-N-Out Burger claims is illegally trying to copy its famous Double-Double and Triple-Triple sandwiches. [More]
trademark infringement
Atari Claims Nestlé Ripped Off Classic Video Game For Kit Kat Commercial
By 8.18.17
A 2016 ad for Nestlé’s Kit Kat bars includes a video game that looks an awful lot like Breakout, the classic Atari video game co-created by Apple’s Steve Wozniak. Problem is, Atari says Nestlé didn’t get permission to make this Kit Kat-themed Breakout clone. [More]
Costco To Pay $19.4M To Tiffany & Co. For Selling Bogus ‘Tiffany’ Rings
By 8.15.17
Costco learned a very expensive lesson this week: A “Tiffany” ring is a specific product sold by a specific company; not just a generic name for any diamond engagement ring. Now the warehouse retailer must pay Tiffany & Company $19.4 million for marketing and selling “Tiffany” diamond rings that had nothing to do with the famed jewelry store. [More]
Mike Tyson Claims ‘Boxing Hall Of Fame’ Is Making Money Off His Name Without Consent
By 8.9.17
Whether you remember Mike Tyson from his 1980s glory days as a championship boxer, that time he bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear, his cameo in The Hangover, or his three-year prison stint for rape, you are probably very familiar with the man’s face. But that doesn’t mean you can just go slapping his photo and name all over merchandise without his permission. [More]
Kroger Goes To War With Lidl Over Similar Sounding Store-Brand Products
By 7.6.17
Lidl, the discount grocery chain from Germany that is not Aldi, recently opened its first U.S. stores in a handful of states. But not everyone is rolling out the welcome wagon. The nation’s largest supermarket chain is accusing the newcomer of trying to copycat its store-brand line of products. [More]
Red Lobster In Legal Battle With Music Festival Over The Word “Summerfest”
By 7.5.17
People tend to add suffixes like “-fest,” “-athon,” or “-palooza” to just about any event these days, but some of these promotional names are well established and protected by registered trademarks. Which is why a beloved Wisconsin music festival is taking seafood chain Red Lobster to court over its use of “Summerfest.” [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Threatens Coffee Shop With Legal Action Over Handwritten Window Message
By 5.31.17
We understand the need for companies to protect their trademarks, but the biggest names in coffee seem to love punching down at small businesses over minor disputes. Starbucks twice fought — and twice lost — a battle with a small New Hampshire roaster over “Charbucks,“ Caribou Coffee forced a Michigan cafe to change its name, and now Dunkin’ Donuts is threatening legal action against a Massachusetts coffee shop over a slogan handwritten on the store’s window. [More]
Hormel Worried People Will Confuse ‘Black Label’ Beggin’ Strips With Its Real Bacon
By 5.30.17 — Updated: 6.1.17
Hormel makes bacon for human consumption, while Nestlé Purina makes bacon — or Beggin’ Strips — for dogs. The bacon and Beggin’ worlds have generally played nice with each other, but then Purina came out with “Black Label” Beggin’ Strips, which hits too close to home for Hormel. [More]
PayPal Mocks Pandora For “Blatantly Pirating” Logo
By 5.23.17 — Updated: 5.25.17
It apparently isn’t enough for PayPal to accuse Pandora of copying its logo, the online payment platform is attempting to humiliate the streaming music service and its business model. [More]
Vacation Deal Scammer Ordered To Pay $6 Million To Delta For Impersonating Airline
By 4.20.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Another scam artist caught pretending to represent a major airline has been hit with a huge judgment. This time, it’s a Florida businessman who has been ordered to pay $6 million for using Delta Air Lines’ name and logo to lure victims into buying bogus vacation packages. [More]
SpongeBob Wins Legal Victory Against Planned “Krusty Krab” Restaurant
By 1.13.17 — Updated: 1.17.17
Creators of popular movies, TV shows, books, and video games are sometimes savvy enough to register unique characters and fictional places with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, but a federal court ruling in a case involving SpongeBob Squarepants shows that a fictional business need not be trademarked in order to benefit from trademark protection. [More]
Man Takes Down Anti-Santander Billboards After Bank Sues For False Advertising, Defamation, Trademark Infringement
By 11.14.16
A Philadelphia man who is upset with Santander Bank wanted to voice his opinion in a pair of recently posted billboards in the city. His message was short-lived, however, after the bank responded by filing a lawsuit against him in federal court. [More]
Creator Of Breaking Bad’s “Los Pollos Hermanos” Logo Suing Sony Over Merchandise
By 10.31.16
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you’re undoubtedly very familiar with the show’s Los Pollos Hermanos — heck, you might even go so far as buy a T-shirt with the fictional restaurant/meth distributor’s logo on it. And that’s exactly why the artist who created the restaurant’s logo is suing Sony Pictures: he says the company made money off merchandise featuring the Los Pollos Hermanos logo without his permission. [More]
Lucasfilm Sues Operator Of “New York Jedi,” “Lightsaber Academy” Programs
By 10.17.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
The term “Jedi” has been around for nearly 40 years and phrases like “Jedi mind trick” get thrown around so frequently you might forget that it’s a term that George Lucas created — and trademarked — for use in the Star Wars universe of movies, books, TV shows, variety specials, and merchandise. Which is why Lucasfilm — now a subsidiary of Disney — is suing the operator of programs that teach students how to use their lightsabers. [More]
TopShop Stops Selling $700 Jacket That Uses Band’s Logo Without Permission
By 9.19.16
If you’re going to make a shirt using a trademarked name and logo, you’d better have permission from the trademark holder. Just ask TopShop, which was called out for selling a $700 leather jacket, complete with an apparently unauthorized use of name and logo for the band Against Me! [More]
The Battle Between Trader Joe’s & Pirate Joe’s Rages On
By 8.30.16
Can you effectively recreate a supermarket by buying a bunch of that store’s products, shipping them across the border and selling them in a store with a deliberately similar name? That’s the question at the center of a years-long legal battle between Trader Joe’s and its Canadian lookalike Pirate Joe’s. [More]
East Coast Chain Tasty Burger Says Chipotle’s Tasty Made Is Ripping Off Its Name & Logo
By 8.8.16
While there may be some Chipotle customers who are excited to try the company’s new burger concept, dubbed Tasty Made, there’s at least one party that’s not so jazzed: an East Coast burger business called Tasty Burger that claims Chipotle is ripping off its name and logo. [More]
Citi Is Suing AT&T Over The Word “Thanks”
By 6.10.16
Last week, AT&T launched a new loyalty program dubbed AT&T Thanks, offering rewards to customers, especially those who bundle together wireless and pay-TV services from the company. This morning, Citi fired back at the Death Star, alleging that AT&T is stomping all over Citi’s “ThankYou” trademark. [More]
