Even Restaurant Critics Are Recognizing How Trademark Is Being Abused
from the forge-this dept
Reader Glenn points us to a blog post by NY Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni, where he points out just how ridiculous it is that a restaurant in NY is being forced to change its name over a trademark dispute. The restaurant was originally called Forge, shortened from owner Marc Forgione's last name. However, a restaurant in Miami called The Forge sued Forge claiming a trademark violation, saying: "You can't open a restaurant on somebody's coattails. It's just not legal."Well, first of all, it's actually perfectly legal to open a restaurant on somebody's coattails. See all those different pizza places or fast food joints? They all started somewhere, and others copied the idea -- and we all think that's a good thing, because it's called competition. But, more importantly, there's no indication whatsoever that Forge was even remotely riding on The Forge's coattails, or that any diner in New York would somehow be confused that Forge was somehow connected to the (very different style) Miami restaurant. As Bruni writes:
How likely is it, really, that a patron of the Miami Beach restaurant The Forge is going to be looking for an offshoot of it in New York, when the Miami Beach restaurant hasn't advertised or promoted such an offshoot?When trademark disputes are even getting angry rants from food critics, you have to think something is seriously wrong with the way trademark law is working these days.
How likely is it that, among the gazillion restaurants in New York, this patron will find his or her way to Mr. Forgione's Forge and, after looking at its rustic, brick-walled setting, mistake it as a sibling to a place in Miami Beach whose waiters apparently wear bow ties?
How many diners are really going to be lining Mr. Forgione's pockets with money that rightfully belongs near the Everglades, or making assumptions about The Forge in Miami Beach based on meals at Forge in TriBeCa? Especially in an Internet era when diners are better informed than ever?
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Filed Under: restaurants, trademark
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I thought a restaurant is using / trying to use "trademark infringement" to silence a bad critic.
that story is no surprise its somewhat similar to the Monster lawsuits.
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What a surprise!
(sorry if I seem extra cynical today)
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ummm...
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Re:
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deniro's
http://www.sectionthree.com/trailer.html
In the end, i think that while this above Forge lawsuit is silly, they will gain more in the publicity then they'll lose in a name change.
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Re: deniro's
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Is it even a competing market?
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To Mr. Masnick
(I made me giggle.)
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Who would've thought there would be a trademark dispute over restaurant names in the city that brought you Ray's Pizza on just about every corner.
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Class
I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon, because 62% of Chinese restaurants are named Great Wall, and I came up with the idea first, so this will make me set for life.
It becomes a class thing, because only idiots who can afford legal representation can engage in this crap. And when the idiots win, the big guy crushes the little guy. A variation on the Walmarting of America.
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possibilities
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TM & Restaurants
In the end, the famousness of the senior mark (the NY "Stork Club") and the arbitrariness of the name "Stork Club" for the name of a bar/club was enough to make the court think something fishy was going on. We can disagree with the ruling, but I'd bet you that the senior "The Forge" in this case will cite Stork Club to help make its case.
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i think the 21 club in NYC
I use to drink in a place called "the old forge" i wonder if prior usage is any kind of defense.
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