Taking on Starbucks

[wildone]

So what to do if you are a small business and you get notice from a lawyer representing Starbucks.....

 

Here is the letter that Exit 6 Pub and Brewery received from a lawyer defending Starbucks trademarks and reputation:

 

 

 

Sounds pretty serious I'd say

 

Well here is the reply letter from the owner of the Bar:

 

 

 

So, what makes this so good is that they posted it on Facebook at their webpage https://www.facebook.com/exitsix

 

They also did mail a cheque for 6 dollars to Starbucks in order to offset the cost of the lawyers fees that they will have to pay out to protect their identity and trademarks.

 

The thing is, legally Starbucks had the right to do it but it makes you wonder if a simple phone call from a person from Starbucks would have done the same thing? I mean Starbucks and the lawyer looks pretty stupid as pointed out in the owner's response letter. Add the fact that he has shared it with the world it should be interesting what response the Starbucks spin doctors will try to whip up (Does Starbucks own the right to the word Whip from Whipping Cream? )

 

Maybe I shouldn't refer to them as Starbucks in this post, might get sued so like the owner, to protect yourself, maybe refer to the company as the S Word in your responses

 

The PPPPS made it all that much better

Edited January 3, 2014 by wildone

[Graeme]

I remember seeing a similar letter many years ago in relation to a wine listed as being French Colombard. Some lawyers were threatening legal action because the wine in question was not from France. In that particular case, the people being sued came up with a wonderful letter pointing out that that was the name of the grape variety, and commiserating with the lawyers regarding french fries, french kissing, the movie The French Connection and lots of other items. Unfortunately, I can't find that letter online because it was a similar masterpiece to unreasonable over-policing of trademarks.

[Daddydavek]

Here's how this story was covered in St. Louis:

 

STARBUCKS

Local brewer's response to Starbucks cease-and-desist goes viral

DECEMBER 31, 2013 3:15 PM  •  BY IAN FROEB IFROEB@POST-DISPATCH.COM 314-340-8348

 

A local craft brewery's tongue-in-cheek response to a cease-and-desist letter from attorneys for Starbucks has become a viral sensation, with mentions on NPR's "Morning Edition" radio program and the website Gawker.

"It's just been insane," says Jeff Britton, owner of Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in Cottleville.

The story began in early December, when Britton received a letter from a law firm that represents Starbucks in trademark disputes. The coffee giant had learned that three users of Untappd, a social-media app for beer fans, had "checked in" to (that is, drank) an Exit 6 beer called Frappicino.

This name, the law firm noted in its letter, was "phonetically identical" to Starbucks' trademarked frozen drink Frappuccino. The letter ended with a stern "request" that Britton cease using the name Frappicino.

In fact, Exit 6 doesn't make a beer called Frappicino. The name refers to a combination of pours of the brewery's Vanilla Cream Ale and a Founders Brewing Co. beer.

On Dec. 26, Britton posted photos of the law firm's letter as well as his reply on Exit 6's Facebook page. Calling the beer in question the "F Word" instead of Frappicino to avoid the "risk of further lawsuits," Britton wrote, "...we meant no deception, confusion, or mistaking in the naming of the beer the F Word. We never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores located a few blocks away."

Britton continued, "We are bad people. We feel shame."

In addition to promising not to use the F Word any more, Britton enclosed a check for $6, which he claimed was the profit made from the beers that the three Untappd users had drunk.

"We realize Mr Bucks paid [the lawyer] more than Exit 6 made last year," he wrote. "We just want to help a business like Starbucks. Us small business owners need to stick together."

Britton has yet to hear from Starbucks or the law firm that contacted him on the company's behalf. Meanwhile, the media storm shows no signs of slowing down. He will appear via satellite on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning, and he continues to field phone calls from TV networks, newspapers, magazines and "so many damn blogs."

The question every one, including this reporter, asks: Has Starbucks cashed the check yet?

"Not at this time," Britton reports.

[Slytherin]

love the reply letter !

[Kitt]

LMAO!   Exit 6 should continue to serve the mixed beers in question but call it "the F word"!

[joann414]

Funny as hello.  six dollars:P

[Zombie]

All this tells us - as if we need reminding - is that large corporations and fancy over-paid lawyer firms are run by exactly the same dicks you'll find in any walk of life

[Sasha Distan]

starbucks as stupid as a bag full of crabs...

[Kitt]

starbucks as stupid as a bag full of crabs...

a bag full of crabs is much less stupid when i can turn it into crab salad and/or crabmeat stuffing. Can't think of a damn thing i could do with starbucks coffee - certainly not drink the shit!

[Tomas]

Now why would anyone want to insult those crabs in that bag?

[Sasha Distan]

a bag of crabs is not nearly as fun to deal with as a bag of rabbits. they can be tasty and their skins are useful. crabs are less easy

[Kitt]

But no less tasty 

[mickey1952]

I agree with Kitt, I can't stand Starbucks coffee. Anybody in the states where there's an Einstein Bros. Bagels tasted their product? Now THERE'S some damn tasty coffee!

[Ron]

I am not one of the Starbucks trashers. Their Casi Cielo blend from the Antigua Valley (recently released) is rich and lush. It is a medium roast that comes round about this time every year. With the exception of one year out of the last five or six, it has been damn good every year. If you try it, do not skimp on the beans. I use 24 grams per 9 oz mug of coffee with an Aeropress.

 

For anyone in the US, Matt's Coffee out of Maine roasts some mighty fine beans using a vintage Italian roaster fired with native sap and fruitwood from the Maine forests. Their Mocha Java blend of beans has been fantastic. The beans are roasted small batch and only to order. You can get the beans through mail-order at a very reasonable delivery cost using priority mail.

 

For those of you that want to know what the Aeropress is, you can find it on Amazon. I make every cup using it nowadays.

If anyone would like to try, I can highly recommend the Mocha Java or Bird Dog (supposedly espresso but makes a nice cup-a) blend. Matt's Coffee