When Starbucks sent a cease and desist letter to a small Missouri brewery, they decided to retaliate by sending the coffee chain a sarcastic response and a check to cover what it calls the profit from use of the word "Frappucino" - a check for $6.
Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in the St. Louis suburb of Cottleville named one of its brews the "Frappucino", with one "c" instead of the two that Starbucks uses for its blended beverages, prompting an attorney for Starbucks Coffee Co. to send Exit 6 a letter on Dec. 9, the Associated Press reported.
The letter from attorney Anessa Owen Kramer noted that the Seattle-based company "is the owner of a number of world-famous trademarks, including the well-known FRAPPUCCINO trademark." It said that the words are "phonetically identical" and that Exit 6's use of Frappucino "is likely to cause confusion, mistake."
Jeff Britton, Exit 6 owner, wrote a sarcastic response that the brewery "never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores located a few blocks away."
According to the AP, the letter was posed to "Mr. Bucks" and posted on Facebook. It revealed that the term "Frappucino" would be dropped and would instead be referred to its beer as the "F Word."
Britton said in a telephone interview Tuesday that he brewed up a new batch of "The F Word" last Friday. Already having received lots of attention on social media, the beer sold out in three hours, the AP reported.
Based on the calls, emails and Facebook messages of support he's received from around the world, Britton is contemplating making more.
"It's been unbelievable," Britton said. "People are just saying, 'Hey, read the story, good job.' I'm getting emails and Facebook messages from Germany, China, England. People are just clamoring for it."
Starbucks spokeswoman Laurel Harper said the company was glad the brewery agreed to stop using the name.
"This was a respectful request asking Exit 6 to refrain from using the term 'Frappucino,' which differs by only one letter from our 'Frappucino' product," she said by telephone. "We always prefer to resolve trademark disputes informally and amicably, and we appreciate them respecting our request to avoid confusion among customers."
