Trademark Dispute Resolved in Favor of Puerto Rico Company. Deciding that a local Kissimmee restaurant name was confusingly similar to that of a chain of restaurants in Puerto Rico, a Florida court issued an injunction requiring the Kissimmee restaurant to change its name. The Kissimmee restaurant - Martin's Family BBQ -- was sued by the Puerto Rico franchise chain, Martin's BBQ. Martin's BBQ argued that its chain was 40 years old and that the Puerto Rican population in Osceola county, which grew 280% in the 1990's, would surely believe that the Martin's Family BBQ was associated with the Puerto Rico chain. The judge agreed and ordered the Kissimmee restaurant to change its name.
Posted by franchiselawblog at January 28, 2004 01:22 PM