Starbucks is clashing with a small Alaska company named Mountains
& Mermaids over a trademark term. The former who is a Seattle-based
coffee giant said that Siren’s Brew for which the later filed a Trademark Application is too similar to its branding.
As the Anchorage Daily News reported, Starbucks wants the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) to reject the application filed by this
small Wasilla-based Mountains & Mermaids Company. Applied late last
year, the Alaska business has been seeking to get Trademark Registration
for the term ‘Siren’s Brew’ for its products since that time. It has
branded its apparel with the image of a siren or mermaid holding a cup
of coffee and recently began using the design on coffee.
Starbucks in an opposition filed in August this year said that it
applied to trademark ‘Siren’s Blend’ for its coffee products in February
2019, but the USPTO has refused the application as of May, based on a
possibility of confusion with Siren’s Brew.
Starbucks continued by saying that the long-time use of siren in its
branding doesn’t end up with its famous green logo. Instead, it has
extended the brand’s use of the term as per its filing. Employees use
the word to refer to its business and products, added Starbucks.
Starbucks further in an emailed statement announced that for near
about half a century, it has invested in establishing a relation between
a siren and coffee. Besides being an integral part of the Starbucks’
logo since the brand got established in 1971, the siren is the face of
the company to the world.
On the other side, Monica Hamilton owning Mountains & Mermaids
along with her daughter named Sarah said that they were shocked to know
about Starbucks’ opposition in regards to their trademark application.
She added that there is no confusion at all. They are neither interested
in interfering with Starbucks’ business nor want them to interfere with
theirs.
Launched in 2017, Alaska Company is an online retailer with many of
its products sporting nautical imagery. The term ‘Siren’s Brew’ of this
company applies to the products such as hoodies mugs, stickers, etc.,
that include the design of a siren or mermaid holding a coffee cup. The
quote incorporated in the design asserts that a siren needs her morning
coffee before a day of wrecking ships and drowning men.
Eric Pelton, a lawyer on behalf of Mountains & Mermaids, said
that whatever term Starbucks’ workers use within the company to describe
their business is not the same as a Registered Trademark. Mr. Pelton also said that he plans to submit a response to Starbucks’ opposition to the USPTO next week. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/starbucks-enters-trademark-dispute-with-a-small-alaska-company/
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