The Consumerist reported Wendy’s is being sued by a Florida restaurant over trademark infringement. Seems the Florida restaurant has been using a tagline — You can’t fake fresh — since 2004, and the phrase has suddenly popped up in Wendy’s latest campaign. Looks like Wendy will go from being an on-camera presenter to a voiceover and hand model to a defendant.
Florida Restaurant Sues Wendy’s Over “You Can’t Fake Fresh” Slogan
By Chris Morran
Many of the trademark infringement stories we cover involve mammoth corporations picking on smaller, unrelated businesses, but this one’s a bit different. A small chain of seafood restaurants in Florida has filed a $2 million lawsuit against Wendy’s over the use of the phrase “You can’t fake fresh.”
Pincher’s Crab Shack, which has seven locations, says it has been using that slogan since 2004. So owners were surprised to see it — and other “You can’t fake...” slogans — pop up in recent advertising campaigns for Wendy’s.
“Plaintiff has made considerable expenditures to build its brand successfully,” Pincher’s writes in its complaint. The restaurant claims that no other restaurant in the U.S. has attempted to trademark any slogan containing the phrase “You can’t fake.”
The restaurant has asked the court to stop Wendy’s from using the slogan and for $2 million in damages.
“To be, if you will, so brazen — is to venture into what many would have considered to be an unacceptable risk, and potentially colossal liability,” a lawyer for Pincher’s tells NBC-2.com.
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