Indianapolis Litigation

In the spirit of entertaining legal stories like the one below that Chris recently shared with our Alerding Castor Hewitt, LLP audience, I thought I would share a story I ran across yesterday about a trademark dispute.  Also, because Chris is a connoisseur of fine comfort food, I’m sure that he will enjoy it. 

A restaurant in Bellevue, Washington, John Howie Steak, has come up with a caloric-intensive burger that starts with grilling a 12-ounce ground chuck patty and then tops it with Kurobuta bacon (the “Kobe Beef of Pork”) fried in tempura, onion rings, and of course a secret house sauce.  So far so good.  But did I mention that the entire concoction rests lovingly between not one but two Tillamook cheddar and Swiss grilled cheese sandwiches?  Oh, yeah.  And it’s served with a side of fries.  For the health conscious out there, you might ask about whether you can substitute a cup of fruit for the fries.   

So what’s the beef, you lawyers and our business law, SaaS law, technology law and other clients might ask?  The restaurant originally named the burger the “Triple Bypass Burger.”  That was all well and good until the Heart Attack Grill near Phoenix, Arizona, caught a whiff of the story.  The Heart Attack Grill threatened legal action based on its claim that it has trademarked the term.  It turns out that the Heart Attack Grill has a burger with the same name, though the contents are vastly different.  (Incidentally, the Heart Attack Grill also has a Quadruple Bypass Burger for the more daring among you, and a Single Bypass Burger and Double Bypass Burger for those who aren’t up to the “full-filling” triple or quadruple challenge).  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your perspective), it looks like a burger war is going to be avoided and the air waves won’t be inundated with commercials reminiscent of those that occurred in the mid-80s between clowns and little old ladies, although there is certainly no cause for complaining about the size of either burger.  John Howie Steak has agreed to change the name of its burger and is holding a contest that runs through October 30, 2010, for its fans and customers to submit suggested names.  The winner gets a party for six that includes six of the burgers and six pints of the restaurant’s amber ale.  I understand that the owner has already suggested “Death on a Bun,” so I recommend that participants submit something different if they want to win the contest.  Of course, I wonder what you’d call the sandwich if you added something else to it, like a deep-fried chicken patty.    

Entertainment aside, this trademark dispute illustrates two points:  (1) potential litigation can begin over the simplest of matters, and (2) when cooler heads prevail, that potential litigation can be avoided – not to mention being grilled at a deposition, hearing or trial.  And in the case of the two restaurants here, it got them some additional publicity at little or no cost.