Starbucks has lost their trademark lawsuit against a New Hampshire coffee company selling "Charbucks" products, Retuers reports, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals having ruled that Black Bear Micro Roastery and its owner may keep their brand names.
Starbucks began the lawsuit against the family-owned coffee company Black Bear Micro Roastery and its owner, Wolfe's Borough Coffee Inc. back in 2001, and the Seattle-based coffee giant has failed to prove that consumers of Black Bear Micro Roastery's Charbucks Blend," "Mister Charbucks" and "Mr. Charbucks" products would "be confused through a blurring of its brand."
Large retailers commonly file trademark lawsuits against rival companies both large and small that they believe are misuing their brands, according to Reuters, as rival products may reduce their profit margin and damage their reputation.
For its lawsuit against Black Bear Micro Roastery, Starbucks had pollster Warren Mitofsky survey 600 people by phone to determine if Charbucks would be associated with Starbucks, though the 2nd Court ruled that the survey was "fundamentally flawed" as it "drew its conclusions from how consumers thought of 'Charbucks' in isolation, not its real-world context."
When asked what came to mind when hearing the name "Charbucks," 39.5 percent of those surveyed reported thinking of "Starbucks" or "coffee," but only 4.4 percent reported "Starbucks" or "coffee" when asked who they might think would sell a product called "Charbucks."
"Viewed in light of Starbucks' fame," wrote Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier for a three-judge panel, "the fact that more survey participants did not think of 'Starbucks' upon hearing 'Charbucks' reinforces the district court's finding that the marks are only minimally similar."
"This is a sound decision," Christopher Cole, a lawyer at Sheehan, Phinney, Bass & Green representing Black Bear, said in an interview, according to Reuters. "It flows from the dramatic dissimilarity between how the different products actually appear in commerce and are seen by consumers."
