Media Coverage
Source: Yahoo! Finance
Media Coverage
04.25.13
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a preliminary no to Robert Muller-Moore regarding his “Eat More Kale” T-shirt business. In the ongoing legal fight, Chick-fil-A claims that the “Eat More Kale” phrase is too similar to its trademarked slogan, “Eat mor chikin.”
According to Patrick Jennings, Washington, D.C.-based counsel in Pillsbury’s trademark practice, the decision ultimately relies on how people would pronounce the slogan. In this case, he commented, “Eat More Kale” is pretty similar to “Eat mor chikin,” whereas “the spelling doesn’t matter so much.”
While Muller-Moore can try to overcome the refusal, Jennings stated, the odds of success with the appeal board are less than 10%. “Patents are very technical but trademarks are much more subjective. The burden to prove infringement is much lower.”
If Muller-Moore continues to use the phrase commercially, Chick-fil-A could sue in federal court for infringement. However, it would have to prove that he was using “the trademark in bad faith and clearly trying to ride the coattails,” which Jennings said is probably not the case here.