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Seattle Kraken sued by local dive bar


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TLDR version is that a local dive bar called Kraken Bar & Lounge is suing the Seattle Kraken for trademark infringement over the team's proposed restaurant, Kraken Bar & Grill, at their practice facility. The team has said they will rename the as-yet-unbuilt restaurant, but the bar wants them to also not use "Seattle Kraken" in any form pertaining to food service and give them $3.5 million.

 

It also appears the bar does not have a registered trademark but is instead basing this on common law trademark.

 

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/kraken/nhls-kraken-sued-by-seattles-kraken-lounge-over-planned-northgate-restaurant-name/

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Okay, since they're going to rename the unbuilt restaurant, is there really any need for the lawsuit to continue on?

 

If anything, it might end up adding business to the bar.

 

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I can't imagine there would be any confusion on the two etablishments. In fact, the pub MIGHT draw more business on the basis of the NHL team name.

 

Waiting for anyone who actually KNOWS this area of law to chime in 🙂

 

ETA - haha - they want money because they want to remain a dive bar and don't want their punk rock clientele to be confused with hockey fans.

 

Get the flannel out.

It's where I sit.

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2 hours ago, colinturner95 said:


They’re not really that similar at all. 
 

Under trademark law generally in order to show infringement it must be shown that there’s confusion between the marks and unless you have a universally known brand or one that has established itself in many different markets and industries (Apple, etc.) the infringing company has to be in the same (or very similar) industry or stream of commerce, and must also be operating in the same general area (aka, if they only serve different markets, confusion is unlikely). For instance, up where I’m from there’s the Sea Dog Brewing Company and the Portland Sea Dogs. One’s a beer company, one’s a baseball team, so even though they have extremely similar names, they can both hold those trademarks.

 

That’s why the Taylor Swift case failed. It is highly unlikely that people are going to see that Taylor Swift released an album utilizing a relatively commonly used phrase and buy it, taking away from the theme park’s attendance numbers.

 

In the Kraken Bar and Grill vs. Kraken Bar and Lounge case, they’re in the same market, they have almost identical names, and they’re in the same industry (sure it’s run by the hockey franchise, but it’s a restaurant). There is a significant likelihood that there will be confusion created that could take away from the dive bar’s business.

 

That being said, there’s no way they should get the money they’re going after since they can’t show actual damage. And since the team already said they’re changing the name, relief has been granted to them.


 

TLDR: You have to show that there’s a high likely hood of confusion and industry/market plays a big role in that analysis. Kraken have a case but shouldn’t get money, Swift case utter nonsense.

I've got a dribbble, check it out if you like my stuff; alternatively, if you hate my stuff, send it to your enemies to punish their insolence!

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I completely side with the dive-bar!

This reminds me of the time that I went online to buy tickets to see the Tampa Bay Rays. But instead I bought some Big Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. 

My life was never the same again!
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</sarcasm for those who need this>

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4 hours ago, selgy said:

I completely side with the dive-bar!

This reminds me of the time that I went online to buy tickets to see the Tampa Bay Rays. But instead I bought some Big Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. 

My life was never the same again!
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
</sarcasm for those who need this>

Don't forget Yankee Candle and the New York Yankees

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5 hours ago, selgy said:

I completely side with the dive-bar!

This reminds me of the time that I went online to buy tickets to see the Tampa Bay Rays. But instead I bought some Big Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. 

My life was never the same again!
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
</sarcasm for those who need this>

You should have been searching for a luxury box at the Single A squad for Tampa. You know, a Suite for the Baby Rays 😁

It's where I sit.

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18 hours ago, selgy said:

I completely side with the dive-bar!

This reminds me of the time that I went online to buy tickets to see the Tampa Bay Rays. But instead I bought some Big Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. 

My life was never the same again!

 

I realize the sarcasm here, but it reminds me of when I was working in customer service for a ticketing company. I dealt with someone on the phone who wanted a refund because they thought they were buying Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets, but they ended up buying tickets to the Red Hot Chili Pipers

 

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42 minutes ago, spartacat_12 said:

 

I realize the sarcasm here, but it reminds me of when I was working in customer service for a ticketing company. I dealt with someone on the phone who wanted a refund because they thought they were buying Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets, but they ended up buying tickets to the Red Hot Chili Pipers

 

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I'd honestly rather see the Pipers.

 

 

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1 hour ago, spartacat_12 said:

 

I realize the sarcasm here, but it reminds me of when I was working in customer service for a ticketing company. I dealt with someone on the phone who wanted a refund because they thought they were buying Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets, but they ended up buying tickets to the Red Hot Chili Pipers

 

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That is something that I could see happening and that would suck 

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Schenectady NY

 

The Electric Grinch was a bar with awesome food.  They were literally down the road (Erie Blvd which was part of the Erie Canal) from General Electric plant #1.  It was a joke name, with a purposely stolen logo.  At least GE had a sense of humor about it.  Seems the bar wants attention

 

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tumblr_nulnnz7RCV1r5jqq2o1_250.jpg

Oh what could have been....

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37 minutes ago, selgy said:


That is something that I could see happening and that would suck 

 

A friend of mine back in high school couldn't return a CD he bought called "Picking on Jimi." He thought it was a Jimi Hendrix compilation; it was instead banjo covers of Jimi songs.

 

Maybe that sounds cool now, but now when you're a broke teenager and CDs cost $17.

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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44 minutes ago, Needschat said:

Schenectady NY

 

The Electric Grinch was a bar with awesome food.  They were literally down the road (Erie Blvd which was part of the Erie Canal) from General Electric plant #1.  It was a joke name, with a purposely stolen logo.  At least GE had a sense of humor about it.  Seems the bar wants attention


I'd say 90% of my family worked at that plant one time or another through well into the late 80's, I always welcome random Schenectady references on these boards!

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Not sure I’d really call this “legal trouble”.

 

Team name, then yeah.  But the restaurant inside their stadium?  Easy enough to fix. 
 

The Kraken should just so a hockey-themed version of what the Brewers did when they lost their big-box chain restaurant at Miller Park and they couldn’t figure out what to replace it with. 
 

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Surely a team named the “Kraken” has a strong sense of humor. 

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You'd think a "punk rock dive bar" would have a sense of humor. Though if you're self describing as a "punk rock dive bar," you clearly don't.

1 hour ago, ShutUpLutz! said:

and the drunken doodoobags jumping off the tops of SUV's/vans/RV's onto tables because, oh yeah, they are drunken drug abusing doodoobags

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So clearly a lot of you don't know anything about trademark law or how it's different from copyright law. Defending your trademark isn't optional like in copyright law. In copyright law you have the ability to just ignore infringement and you don't lose the right protect it in other situations.

 

Under trademark law you are required to actively defend your trademark from EVERY case of infringement or risk if becoming genericized and losing it. That's why the Olympic Committee is so harsh on public schools using it, because if they don't then they will lose the trademark. That was a trade name for moving staircases. If you have a  and you want to keep it, it doesn't matter if you come across as petty or mean or evil, you MUST defend it. For instance, ever heard of an escalator? That was the trade name for moving staircases. It became genericized and Otis Elevator Company lost its trademark on the term.

 

On the GE thing. Again, one of those is an electric company and one of those is a bar. Nobody is going to think, "Oh, GE is running a bar"called the electric Grinch so they couldn't enforce a trademark. The logo thing becomes a copyright issue which is an entirely separate matter.

I've got a dribbble, check it out if you like my stuff; alternatively, if you hate my stuff, send it to your enemies to punish their insolence!

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