alexlannin
01-12-2006, 06:41 PM
Small coffee company can keep "Charbucks" name
Thu Jan 12, 10:48 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a rare setback for the company that made "Frappuccino" a household word, a federal judge ruled that a small New Hampshire coffee roaster can keep selling its "Charbucks" brand coffee beans, following a nearly decade-long legal battle with Starbucks Corp.
Judge Laura Swain of New York federal court ruled last month that consumers were unlikely to be confused between Starbucks and the "Charbucks" and "Mister Charbucks" coffee blends sold by the family-owned Black Bear Micro Roastery of Center Tuftonboro, New Hampshire.
The judge also ruled that the world's largest coffee shop chain had failed to prove the "Charbucks" products had tarnished its image.
Starbucks sued Black Bear in 2001, though its legal department first raised objections to Black Bear's use of the term "Charbucks" in 1997.
In a statement, Starbucks said it was currently reviewing the court's opinion.
Late last year, a federal judge in Oregon ruled in favor of Starbucks in a case involving a woman named Samantha Buck who had named her Astoria, Oregon coffee shop Sambucks.
Thu Jan 12, 10:48 AM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In a rare setback for the company that made "Frappuccino" a household word, a federal judge ruled that a small New Hampshire coffee roaster can keep selling its "Charbucks" brand coffee beans, following a nearly decade-long legal battle with Starbucks Corp.
Judge Laura Swain of New York federal court ruled last month that consumers were unlikely to be confused between Starbucks and the "Charbucks" and "Mister Charbucks" coffee blends sold by the family-owned Black Bear Micro Roastery of Center Tuftonboro, New Hampshire.
The judge also ruled that the world's largest coffee shop chain had failed to prove the "Charbucks" products had tarnished its image.
Starbucks sued Black Bear in 2001, though its legal department first raised objections to Black Bear's use of the term "Charbucks" in 1997.
In a statement, Starbucks said it was currently reviewing the court's opinion.
Late last year, a federal judge in Oregon ruled in favor of Starbucks in a case involving a woman named Samantha Buck who had named her Astoria, Oregon coffee shop Sambucks.