Small Roaster Beats Starbucks Over Their Charbucks Blend
from the cool-beans dept
If you're like me, you'd be surprised to learn how much legal action exists surrounding sweet, sweet java. See, I love coffee. It's what makes my morning routine work, like the on button of my entire day. On the other hand, once I've worked myself up into a caffeine-driven frenzy, I really hate to see overly-aggressive intellectual property actions. Yet that's exactly what I'm dealing with today, reading about how megalithic Starbucks went after a tiny New Hampshire coffee roaster over one of their blends, Charbucks.
"We're just a mom-and-pop little roastery," said Annie Clark, who with her husband, Jim, owns Black Bear Micro Roastery in Tuftonboro. They were sued in 2001 in federal district court in New York by Starbucks, which alleged Black Bear's use of the name "Charbucks" infringed, blurred and tarnished its famous trademarks.So why did Black Bear offer a brew called Charbucks? Well, apparently there's something of a public perception that Starbucks roasted beans appeared to be abnormally dark in color, indicating something or other about their quality. In other words, it was a gentle jab at a Goliath-like company from a roasting David. The name only worked to begin with as a distinction between the quality of Starbucks beans and Black Bear beans. That didn't stop Starbucks from suing for trademark infringement, however, and then following up with an appeal when Black Bear won round one in court. Fortunately, the appeals court agreed with the original ruling.
The appeals court noted that "one of the reasons Black Bear used the term 'Charbucks' was the public perception that Starbucks roasted its beans unusually darkly." But it agreed with the district court in finding minimal similarity and weak evidence of actual association between the brands.In other words, no harm no foul, particularly given that the name of the brew required customers to make a distinction between the brands. Starbucks has since offered some quotes to sound reasonable about their claim, and indeed it appears they were not seeking any monetary damages, but this was still a silly move to begin with. No need to jump at shadows, Starbucks. Perhaps you've been drinking too much of your own coffee.
"Their sales haven't been hurt," Clark said, noting that Black Bear's haven't changed much over the years. "Their growth hasn't been hurt."
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Filed Under: charbucks, coffee, trademark
Companies: black bear, starbucks
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Charbucks
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In China
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Re: Charbucks
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Too dark
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Re: Too dark
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I would totally buy a coffee called "charbucks." I would not be confused about where it came from.
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Starbucks 'Coffee'
Seriously, I think the coffee taste is just great marketing. No-one with working tastebuds is going to want to taste a $3 Starbucks black coffee, so you pay $5-7 for a donkeyload of flavoring, caramel, and whipped cream to cover it up.
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Re: In China
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I mean, if you're into burnt stuff...
Most anyone I ever came across liked them for the name and what you may call ambiance(Yes, people get all uppity when they are carrying a Grande Latte for some fool hardy reason), and occasionally a specific latte. I've found more to like in local coffee shops that have better staff and better atmosphere than any SB's I've ever been in.
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Starbucks jumping at shadows
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Re: Re: Charbucks
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Re: Re: Charbucks
What I don't understand, and will probably never understand, is how so many Starbucks can stay in business in the parts of the country which are blessed to have really excellent coffee available. Places like Seattle, for instance.
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Im with you Tim
I think Starbucks coffee tastes like there's dirt in it...
Wawa coffee is OK
Personally, I grind beans at home.
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Re: Re: Re: Charbucks
What's really funny about what you said is
A. you think Starbucks is popular in Seattle.
B. you think there is good coffee outside of Seattle.
Signed,
Mr Ha Ha, from California.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Charbucks
There is great coffee available outside of Seattle. In fact, the top five best coffee places I've ever been in aren't even in the state of Washington. However, I'm not so sure there is any great coffee outside of the Pacific Northwest at all. At least, I haven't found it.
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Coffee is bad for you
For instance, caffeine is ototoxic -- it's toxic to your ears. It raises bloodpressure. It induces stress. It usually contains lots of pesticides. It raises cancer risk. Etc etc.
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