Naming restaurants

[mojoman]

This could be extrapolated to the naming of any business but I'll limit it to restaurants to keep it on point.

The question is prompted by the often lyrical and original names I see for restaurants. When a restauranteur is looking to open a new resto, what are the legal requirements regarding naming the joint?

To be concrete, could someone open a restaurant called "The French Laundry" in Washington, DC? Of course that would be totally hokey but is it legal? It just seems to me that, with the large number of restaurants, it must get very dificult to come up with a unique name if that's the legal requirement.

Can a restaurant name be trademarked?

[markabauman]

I'm not an attorney, but I think names are usually trademarked or construed as intellectual property. A number of years ago there was a little independent Mexican restaurant in our town named "Margaritaville" and Jimmy Buffett's lawyers got wind of it and made them change the name.

[Fat Guy]

The French Laundry is a registered service mark, on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. (French Laundry is also a trademark of Mervyn's, a Minnesota-based women's clothing company. And a dry cleaner, and a laundry detergent . . .).

This is a fairly complex issue, and when disputes arise they're rarely decided in court -- usually, the party with the larger legal budget intimidates the other party into changing the name without a judge ever ruling on the matter.

[cdh]

The main consideration is whether the newcomer's name is likely to confuse the purchasing public into making a false association between the new venture and the older venture already using the similar name. Federal registration, like FG pointed to, alters the analysis by introducing presumptions that weigh heavily in favor of a pre-registered mark, even outside of the locality where it is located and used.

Best practice is make up something totally novel and unique. If you want to tread close to some other venture's mark that's already in use, talk to a lawyer to get the right analysis done about how risky your proposed name will be.

Edited October 31, 2007 by cdh (log)

[san]

French Laundry, Fenton Michigan

I've heard of this place and just visited their website. Ironic that they have fine print warning against unauthorized downloads and a copyright.

[Darcie B]

A related question: how much of a chain restaurant is open to imitating? Recently a restaurant opened here in Charleston, WV called Cilantro's. My friends dragged me there a few weeks ago, and I swear the owner just copied a Chipotle down to the corrugated tin decor. The menu is very similar, but without the trade names for the meats. It's three tacos, a burrito, or "naked," pick your meat, your salsas, etc.

I have no stake in the matter other than I think it's disingenuous (and lazy) of the owner to promote this as a new idea. There are no Chipotle restaurants here, of course. Is the owner of Cilantro's opening himself up for a legal challenge?

[cdh]

It is possible for knock-off restaurants to be considered a rip-off of "trade dress", a subset of trademark law. There was a very famous case in Texas where one taco chain got the Supreme Court to decide that another taco chain was confusing customers about where they were by copying their decor. So it might be possible for Chipotle to bring a lawsuit, depending on lots of details we've not looked at here.

Google "two pesos taco cabana" for lots of fun reading on restaurant knock-off law.

Edited October 31, 2007 by cdh (log)