97 replies to this topic

[Sammie Jo]

Bo Muller-Moore sells $25 hand-stenciled "Eat More Kale" T-shirts that he cranks out one at a time in his Vermont home, and this has ruffled the feathers of Chick-fil-A.

The fast-food chain, which rang up $3.5 billion in sales in 2010, is trying to put Muller-Moore out of business—for the second time in five years. Chick-fil-A, which is second only to king-of-the-fast-food-coop KFC, considers him a threat to the brand.

Chick-fil-A says Muller-Moore's T-shirt business, founded in 2000, infringes on its trademarked slogan "Eat Mor Chikin." It's a [deliberately-misspelled] advertising campaign the Atlanta-based chain launched in 1995 and, according to the company website, changed the burger-eating landscape forever. The message "reaches millions—on television, radio, the Internet, and the occasional water tower," explains the website. (The closest Chick-fil-A to Vermont is in Nashua, N.H., more than 120 miles away.)

Chick-fil-A first came after Muller-Moore in 2006, with a letter demanding that the artist—who also posts screenprinting instructional videos at eatmorekale.com—cease and desist from printing T-shirts and send Chick-fil-A any inventory.

"Man, it knocked the wind out of me," Muller-Moore, 39, told the Burlington Free Press. "I make my living as a foster parent. At the time, I had one small child. I now have two of my own. My business has grown every year. I'm certainly not getting rich. I can't live on it. It's the foster parenting gig that pays the bills, but that said, the business is growing every year. I'm in it for the long haul."

Muller-Moore applied to the Vermont Arts Council for free legal help, and a lawyer wrote some letters on his behalf. It seemed Chick-fil-A backed down. But then in August Muller-Moore applied for a U.S. trademark for "Eat More Kale" to use the phrase on a range of clothing and stickers.

Chick-fil-A cried fowl. In October of 2011 the company's lawyers sent a letter to Muller-Moore, noting that the company owns numerous U.S. and international trademarks and copyrights for both "Eat Mor Chikin" and for cows holding sandwich-boards reading "Eat Mor Chikin."

"Your client's Eat More Kale Mark plays off of and imitates Chick-fil-A's valuable 'Eat Mor Chikin' Intellectual Property by using a prefix confusingly similar to Chick-fil-A's federally-registered 'Eat Mor Chikin' trademarks," Chick-Fil-A's lawyer wrote to Muller-Moore's, according to the Free Press. "Your client's misappropriation of Chick-fil-A's 'Eat Mor Chikin' intellectual property, to play off of and benefit from the extraordinary fame and goodwill of Chick-fil-A's trademarks, copyrights and popular promotional campaign, is likely to cause confusion of the public and dilutes the distinctiveness of Chick-fil-A's intellectual property and diminishes its value. Such actions constitute trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition in violation of federal and state law."

The six-page letter notes that Chick-fil-A has successfully defended against 30 other "Eat More" phrases, including "Eat More Goat" and "Eat More Beer," and says the chicken chain has won lawsuits against Burger King Corp. and others. (In 2000, Chick-fil-A objected to a Burger King ad where animated poultry from the film Chicken Run held up signs reading "Save the Chickens: Eat a Whopper.")

The letter asks that Muller-Moore abandon his trademark application, "cease and forever desist" all plans to use the phrase "Eat More Kale" for his business—and transfer the eatmorekale.com domain name to Chick-fil-A. (It says the chicken chain would not object to Muller-Moore using "Eat Kale" or eatkale.com.")

Muller-Moore's lawyer has fired off a five-page response, which observes that no one is likely to confuse the two slogans.

"My client's phrase shares only six out of twelve of the same letters as your client's phrase and none of the imagery or conceits," Richardson writes. "My client has no cow designs which appear in conjunction with the phrase 'Eat More Kale.'"

Whether one is likely to be confused with the other may be less at issue than whether Chick-fil-A can be seen to be lax in its defense of its own trademarks.

"If a trademark owner fails to protect their trademark, they run the risk of losing it," wrote Steve O'Donnell, a Lancaster, Pa., trademark attorney, of a 2010 case where Chick-fil-A complained about an Orlando area fruit and vegetable market using the slogan "Eat More Produce."

Any other time I have seen articles about this company, they always mention it's christian roots, no mention of that in this article.

[Ungodly]

Any other time I have seen articles about this company, they always mention it's christian roots, no mention of that in this article.

Because mentioning that they are Jeebustards would make the vicious attack on this little guy look even more creepy.

People in the media are perhaps sometimes afraid to associate religious brand names with bad things for fear of reprisals.

[Great Ape]

Chick-fil-A is known for promoting the company founder's Christian values.

S. Truett Cathy founder and Chairman, is a devout Southern Baptist; his religious beliefs are a major impact on the company. The company's official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.

Chick-fil-A Wikipedia


Well, they definitely have Christian roots. They have successfully protested at least 30 instances of the use of an "eat more" phrase. With that track record, I do feel sorry for Bo Muller-Moore. His chances of winning seem slim. I hope that Chick-fil-A doesn't succeed with their case against him. Not so much because of its Christian roots but because I dislike corporate bullying.

Edited by Great Ape, 28 January 2012 - 07:58 AM.

[Cousin Ricky]

Those who have need to make sure that those who have not don't get any. In the case of Chick-Fil-A, Matthew 13:12 and Matthew 25:29 trump Matthew 5:42.

The purpose of intellectual property rights is to encourage creativity for the benefit of all. Lately, as with SOPA and with software patents, it's been used to stifle creativity for the enrichment of a few who are already rich. (In at least one case, an intellectual property claim has been used to block breast cancer research. How's that for perverting the rationale for a legal concept?)

Edited by Cousin Ricky, 19 February 2013 - 08:59 PM.

[Sammie Jo]

and this guy is up there in vermont, probably working out of his garage, what a threat he is.
If he has to change the logo, he should change it to Eat Kale More, then have the chik fillet logo with a big X over it, right underneath.
They're building a new chik fillet fairly near me, I won't be patronizing it, like I said, their sandwiches suck, I'll go to the whataburger next door if I feel the need for junk food.
This is so petty, but then again, they are christians.
Maybe I'll send them an email asking them if suing the little guy is the christian way.

[Ungodly]

For persons like myself who are, how shall I say, Friends of Dorothy the highly Christian family behind Chick-fil-A are major financial donors to anti-gay hate for Jesus causes.
link

About a year ago gay activists were asking decent human beings to avoid Chick-fil-A.

I was not going to go there anyway because of being an ancient hippie weirdo vegan pacifist that does not eat birds. I also was not going to go there because all of their wheaty food with wheat in it would make me ill. Plus I was not going to go there because i don't want to reward their bigotry with my money.

In a long ago previous life when I was married to a woman she worked for a while at Chick-fil-A and hated it because the owner kept trying to Jesus her.

[Joe Bloe]

I'm not trying to defend Chick-fil-A, but...

The problem is that these companies have to follow this course of action if they are going to protect their trademark. If they stop doing so, their trademark will enter the public domain and anyone will be able to use it.

The manufacturers of cellophane tried for decades to protect the name of their product - whenever the word cellophane was used in the media, the lawyers sent a letter stating that "cellophane" was a registered trademark and could not be used without permission from the company. Eventually, of course, they were completely overwhelmed - the lawyers were unable to send warning letters to everyone who used the word, and cellophane entered the public domain.

The Chick-fil-A company probably couldn't care less about the "Eat More Kale" campaign, but if they don't pursue it then they will have set a precedent (of not actively protecting their "Eat Mor Chikin" trademark) - and if they are no longer protecting it, then it becomes public domain and anyone can use it.

[Sammie Jo]

but, the trademark is for eat MOR chikin, the kale shirt is spelled MORE, I hear what you're saying, but I sure wouldn't have thought of chick fillet by reading that shirt, and if people do, isn't that like free advertising?
I hope they lose.

[Great Ape]

The problem is that these companies have to follow this course of action if they are going to protect their trademark. If they stop doing so, their trademark will enter the public domain and anyone will be able to use it.

This is true. They do need to protect their copyright which I can certainly understand.

but, the trademark is for eat MOR chikin, the kale shirt is spelled MORE, I hear what you're saying, but I sure wouldn't have thought of chick fillet by reading that shirt, and if people do, isn't that like free advertising? I hope they lose.

It seems that Chik-fil-A doesn't care if it is spelled Mor or More. In their complaint they state that Bo Muller-Moore uses a prefix confusingly similar to Chick-fil-A's federally-registered 'Eat Mor Chikin' trademark.

What I dislike about this particular lawsuit is Bo Muller-Moore is just small potatoes. Here is a guy making T-shirts that he cranks out one at a time from his home. You would think that Chik-fil-A wouldn't bother with him. Yet here they are bringing a complaint against him. I suppose they need to pursue what they perceive as copyright infringement where ever they find it. I just hate seeing a guy who is trying to make a meager living getting shafted like that. I hope Chik-fil-A loses too.

[Sammie Jo]

I sent them an email.
For a Christian based operation, it sure isn't very Christian like of you to go after some poor guy knocking out t-shirts in his garage because you think his eat morE Kale shirts are an infringement on your trademark. No they're not, and for the record, I'm not buying your chikin. Hypocrites! What happened to turn the other cheek? hah!
Just in case anyone feels like sending them a mail, here's the link.
http://www.chick-fil...ontact-Us-CARES

[nogodbutdog]

Great...



So much for my Easter-themed T-shirts. Maybe they'll look the other way if I don't try to copyright it.

Edited by nogodbutdog, 01 February 2012 - 02:07 AM.

[Cousin Ricky]

Great...



So much for my Easter-themed T-shirts. Maybe they'll look the other way if I don't try to copyright it.

Yeah, this is going to be a problem. After all, Chick-fil-A is a Protestant outfit, and "Eat more me" is a Catholic doctrine, and who are those uppity Catholics to believe what's actually in the Buybull?

[Ungodly]

Yeah, this is going to be a problem. After all, Chick-fil-A is a Protestant outfit, and "Eat more me" is a Catholic doctrine, and who are those uppity Catholics to believe what's actually in the Buybull?

This is opportunity knocking! Chick-Fil-A should buy up leftover Jesus wafers from the local HRCC business locations, grind up the Jesus into a fine powder, then mix it in with their batter. Then they could really sell Jesus Chicken!

They could only mention the Jesus powder in the Catholic and Anglican crowds where most Jesus wafers are served. Special ads for Jesus Chicken could be placed in the church publications.

[Sammie Jo]

I got a reply.


Dear Ms. XXXX:

Thank you for your response surrounding the recent media reports about the Eat More Kale slogan. In 2006, we became aware of the Vermont based company using the slogan and chose not to contest the continued sale of t-shirts through the company’s website. However, in August 2011, the company submitted its application to trademark the slogan so it can protect and use it nationally. Because of this new development, we are required to protect “Eat More Chikin®”, our own brand and trademark for 16 years. Unfortunately, when protecting our trademark, the law does not allow us to differentiate between large and small companies. We appreciate your understanding.

Sincerely,

Darren
Chick-fil-A CARES
Chick-fil-A...We Didn't Invent The Chicken,
Just The Chicken Sandwich.
On the Web at www.chick-fil-a.com

[Great Ape]

Dan Cathy, Chick-Fil-A President, On Anti-Gay Stance: 'Guilty As Charged'

The Huffington Post | July 17, 2012

Though Chick-fil-A has come under considerable fire for its documented support of anti-gay Christian organizations, officials for the fast food chain have remained mostly tight-lipped about the controversy -- until now.

In a new interview with the Baptist Press, Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy -- the son of company founder S. Truett Cathy -- addresses what the publication describes as his franchise's "support of the traditional family."

Cathy's somewhat glib response: "Well, guilty as charged."

He went on to note, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that...we know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

Cathy then reiterated his stance during an appearance on "The Ken Coleman Show," Good as You blogger Jeremy Hooper reported.

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say 'we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about," Cathy said in that interview, which can be heard here.

Needless to say, Cathy's remarks quickly sparked the ire of a number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocates and bloggers. "Regardless of where you stand, the placement of LGBT people within our societal picture and within our body of laws is the conversation at hand," wrote Hooper. "That is not the same thing as 'support for the traditional family,' no matter how aggressively the self-appointed values movement attempts to (mis)name reality!"

Added David Badash of The New Civil Rights Movement: "Apparently, in the Cathy family’s mind, gay people don’t have families, no one divorces, and everyone must be Christian."

--snip--

[Full Story]

An examination of Chick-Fil-A, a fast food restaurant extremely popular in the Bible Belt South.

Now we know the rest of the story. It will be a cold day in hell before I eat at Chick-Fil-A again.

Eat Mor Beef!

Edited by Great Ape, 18 July 2012 - 04:52 AM.

[Ungodly]

Chick-Fil-A is well known for their vicious, Jesus-brand homophobia. Not only do they provide $$$ to anti-gay hate groups they also immediately fire or harass any employee found to be or suspected to be gay.

Many, many years ago I was married to a female wife who worked briefly at Chick-Fil-A. She, then like myself not too impressed with the Jesus industry, found it very oppressive when the owners of the franchise kept trying to Jesus up all of the employees.

Even Forbes Magazine, the journalistic haven for capitalists, finds the Chick-Fil-Jesus crowd very strange.

As we wrote about a few weeks ago, Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, has been particularly active in the fight against marriage equality. They've hosted conferences with some of the leading opponents of gay marriage in this country. A higher up at WinShape has even praised the efforts of anti-gay activist David Blankenhorn for working against marriage equality, and for articulating a solid reason why American culture should reject same-sex couples.

source

Really, it seems the more vehemently they love the stupid fairy tales, the more vicious their homophobic bigotry. As if bigotry and the evangelical lifestyle choice were both just different representations of the same thing. Just so we have a name for it, let's call it The Stupid.

Why is it that fundamentalist units of just about any religion always seem to be bigots too?

More

[Cousin Ricky]

"I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say 'we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about," Cathy said in that interview, which can be heard here.

What an arrogant way to feign humility and misrepresent the marriage equality position! Disagreeing with Mr. Cathy does not constitute shaking one's fist at an Imaginary Nonexistent Bigoted Psychopath. (I'll bet he thinks that atheists are mad at his god, too.)

Needless to say, Cathy's remarks quickly sparked the ire of a number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocates and bloggers. "Regardless of where you stand, the placement of LGBT people within our societal picture and within our body of laws is the conversation at hand," wrote Hooper. "That is not the same thing as 'support for the traditional family,' no matter how aggressively the self-appointed values movement attempts to (mis)name reality!"

But that's what fundamentalists do: create imagine reality in their own image. (Except for the closet cases, who imagine reality in what they imagine their own image to be.)

[Ungodly]

Is Mr Cathy really a member of the generation that wants to expand the definition of marriage, or perhaps is he just a dying dinosaur from the age of ancient bigotry?

The people who are creating the world of today are not like this man. They show no signs of wanting to be like him. Generally speaking, most of the young people, are very open minded about gay people. The war is over, there are some isolated pockets that refuse to believe they have lost, and there are mine fields left behind in various laws and constitutions. It will take some time to clean up all of the hate pumped in to legislative bodies and ballot initiatives by the Jesus industry, in Jesus' name.

The Jesus industry will continue fighting tooth and nail at the same time as more and more of their sheeple wonder what is up with that.

Mainstream Christianity, if such a thing can be defined, will soon begin tumbling off the fence onto the side of justice and compassion. But dinosaurs like this unit will screech even louder as more and more put them on ignore.

Goodbye dinosaur.

[Joe Bloe]

Is Mr Cathy really a member of the generation that wants to expand the definition of marriage, or perhaps is he just a dying dinosaur from the age of ancient bigotry?

My guess is that he's a dying dinosaur. When he dies it wouldn't surprise me if the board gets together and says, "OK, now that the dickhead has gone, let's drop this religious crap and start making some real money..."

[Great Ape]

Is Mr Cathy really a member of the generation that wants to expand the definition of marriage, or perhaps is he just a dying dinosaur from the age of ancient bigotry?

Mr. Cathy is a dying dinosaur. I think bigotry will always be with us. It seems to be human nature. But I think one day people will be forced to keep their bigotry to themselves for fear of being ostracized by society.