Wolfgang Puck Battles Elon Musk's Brother Over Trademark Rights For 'The Kitchen' In Restaurant Industry

from the really? dept

Update: The original story incorrectly suggested that the USPTO had allowed a trademark on "the Kitchen" when that's not the case. We've edited the article to correct that impression, and apologize for the error.

Generic terms that are allowed trademark protection are the bane of those that still believe trademark law serves a useful function. For the law to work as intended, to protect the public's ability to know what they're buying and from whom they are buying it, trademarks need to be both unique and identifying.

Take one current trademark dispute, for instance, which happily includes such big names as Wolfgang Puck and the brother of Elon Musk, Kimbal Musk. Those two are currently battling over whether or not the term "the kitchen" ought to be trademarked for the restaurant industry. Puck is opening new digs in Chicago with the name "The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck." Musk is one of the founders of The Kitchen Cafe out of Colorado. Musk filed a lawsuit against Puck in Colorado over the trademark issue, with Puck's lawyers filing a motion to dismiss while also filing suit in Illinois to have the Chicago area be the venue for the litigation.

The Colorado complaint filed by Musk's company makes the following claim.

Puck's "use of The Kitchen immediately caused confusion in the restaurant industry and marketplace," according to the Colorado compliant, which The Kitchen Cafe filed against a different Puck entity, Wolfgang Puck Licensing.

The claim is fairly laughable for any number of reasons. There is the generic nature of the term in the restaurant industry, the fact that the term does nothing to identify the source of the restaurant ownership, and, most importantly, the wide swath of restaurants that incorporate the term into their names. And that's the reason for Puck's desire to move the venue to Chicago. Puck's lawyer, Steve Mick, explains it nicely.

Both parties have restaurants in Chicago, Mick said. "And we like the fact that within a mile radius of The Kitchen's location in Chicago, there are five or six other restaurants using the phrase 'kitchen.'"

In River North, there's Lyfe Kitchen, Travelle Kitchen + Bar and Doc B's Fresh Kitchen, according to the Illinois complaint. One North Kitchen & Bar is also nearby in the Loop.

"That just sort of underscores our whole point," Mick said. "They don't get to elbow out everybody."

And the fact that they haven't even tried is going to be a problem in the suit. If Puck's restaurants are infringing on Musk's trademarks, why aren't all of these other, longer-standing restaurants likewise infringing? The attorney for The Kitchen Cafe has an answer for this, but it's not a good answer.

"The Kitchen has no issue with descriptive uses of 'kitchen' that do not cause confusion, which is the case in these other instances," said Timothy Getzoff, the attorney representing The Kitchen Cafe. "In contrast, Puck's competing restaurant uses the exact same name, The Kitchen, which already has caused confusion in the market."

Which means that Musk's company essentially filed a trademark suit over the word "the." That word is the hangup here, even as the overtly generic term "kitchen" is utilized all over the restaurant industry. If Musk's suit isn't a loser, then I don't know what would be.

Filed Under: elon musk, kimbal musk, kitchen, restaurants, trademark, wolfgang puck

DailyDirt: Useful Cooking Gadgets?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There is a constant stream of kitchen gadgetry aiming to save everyone time, effort and money. Just watch any TV channel when the paid programming kicks in, and you'll eventually see an infomercial for a revolutionary new cooking tool that you can't imagine ever living without. Sure, most of these inventions are probably made of flimsy plastic that will break after a few weeks of casual use, but you'll already have broken even on the time you saved, right? Here are just a few links to some neat kitchen tools that you might want to try throw in a drawer and forget about.

• A submission for the James Dyson award proposes a kitchen device that uses a laser for automatically cutting up common fruits/vegetables and meat. Warning: Do not look at laser with remaining eye. [url]
• There are a couple cheap robots that will help stir the pots on your stove while you're cooking, but they aren't very good at doing their job. What do you expect for a robot that costs under $10? [url]
• If a robot can't help with the simple job of stirring liquids in the kitchen, maybe a passive design would be more reliable -- a specially shaped pot can create a small whirlpool when water is heated in it. If you're too lazy to stir a pot of boiling water (and whatever food you're cooking), you're probably not cooking that much in the first place.... [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: cooking, gadgets, inventions, james dyson award, kitchen, laser cutting, robot stirring, tools

DailyDirt: Now You're Cooking With Gas... Or Something Better Maybe?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are all kinds of kitchen gadgets that promise to save time while cooking meals. The microwave oven is probably the best example of technology making our meals significantly faster to prepare, but there are plenty of other cooking methods that are catching on in more and more kitchens (induction cooking, slow cookers, etc). Here are just a few more examples that might clutter your countertops.

• The next ubiquitous cooking gadget could be a thermal immersion circulator for "set it and forget it" sous vide cooking. Cooking food in plastic bags is not quite as convenient as microwaving stuff, but it's not that hard -- and your kitchen never smells like burnt popcorn after you use one of these. [url]
• You might remember: Ron Popeil presented his Ronco Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ in an infomercial that aired for the first time on August 8, 1998. Total sales for the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie exceed a billion dollars -- far surpassing similar cooking devices like the Roto-Broil 400 from the 1950s. [url]
• The Wonderbag is a twist on a slow cooker -- and it uses no electricity. Okay, you might need to use some electricity (or gas or something) in order to heat up the food, but once your food has been heated to boiling -- put it in this somewhat unwieldy beanbag and just wait for a few hours while your food slowly cooks. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: cooking, food, gadgets, kitchen, microwave, ron popeil, ronco, rotisserie, slow cooker, sous vide, thermal immersion circulator, wonderbag
Companies: ronco

DailyDirt: Simple Kitchen Techniques

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Some people freely admit that they have trouble boiling water when it comes to cooking techniques. But some seemingly simple tasks aren't so easy to do if your standards are set high enough. The proliferation of cooking shows doesn't quite help because every TV chef has his/her own way of creating the same dish -- so there's no consistent method. Here are just a few examples of some "easy dishes" to prepare.

• A perfectly fried egg is cooked in a small pool of olive oil over medium-high heat. But in this particular demonstration, the perfect egg might be a bit more runny than some people like their eggs. [url]
• Freezing water might not sound like a tricky task, but if you want optically-clear ice cubes without any annoying bubbles or haziness in them -- there are a few tricks to it. When water freezes slowly, fewer air bubbles get trapped inside -- so cool your water down slowly in an insulated container. [url]
• There are plenty of tips on how to properly cook a hard boiled egg. Start with room temperature eggs, cold water and remove them from heat about a minute after the water boils... but there are no guarantees on how easy those eggs will be to peel. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: boiling, cooking, eggs, food, freezing, frying, ice, kitchen