Starbucks recently sent a cease and desist letter to the Indian River Coffee Co. because the shop uses the word "venti" to describe its largest coffee. Indian River, which is planning a franchise expansion in Florida, questioned Starbucks' ability to trademark "venti" which is Italian for twenty. The owners of Indian River claim that they arrived at the name at around the time Starbucks filed its trademark application -- with the assistance of the owner of an Italian restaurant a few doors down from their shop. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office did not see any problem with the trademark.
Posted by franchiselawblog at March 16, 2004 11:13 AM