Missouri Bar Responds To Cease And Desist From Starbucks With Epic Letter And $6 Check

[HarveyDarkey]

When one of the largest companies in the United States serves you a “cease and desist” letter, there are various ways to approach it.

One way is to give in to any demands in fear of powerful lawyers and millions or billions of dollars, forgetting whatever you were doing that got you in that predicament in the first place.

The other option is to write a mocking apology letter and send a check for an extremely small amount of cash to prove a point.

The Exit Six Pub and Brewery in Cottleville, Missouri, chose the latter, taking on the coffee behemoth that is Starbucks.

So what would turn the two unlikely entities into enemies? Exit Six was serving a beer called “Frappicino,” which bears quite a similar name to Starbucks’ signature coffee drink, the Frappucino.

Starbucks sent Exit Six a cease and desist letter, to which Exit Six replied with this Facebook post on Thursday:

“So quick little story. Last week I received a cease and desist letter from the attorneys at Starbucks. Apparently there was a beer on Untappd that someone named ‘Frappicino.’ 3 people had checked into said beer. 3.

“Starbucks did not like that. So I got a letter. They wanted me to remove the beer and promise never to use their names again. They also wanted my written response and guarantee. Here is their letter. And also my response.

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/missouri-bar-responds-cease-desist-starbucks-epic-letter-6-check-photos/

[panader0]

1. Never had a Starbucks coffee.

Why pay for one cup of yuppie coffee when I can get a month worth if I brew it mysef for the same price?

[SoCalDem]

4. I insulted a starbucks barista once.

My friend & I went to a new mega-mall (eons ago) and decided we wanted a coffee. It's VERY hard to get PLAIN coffee at SB. We finally managed to get one each and after ONE taste, we went back & asked him to "dump half the cup & replace it with hot water".. He was duly insulted & asked us what was wrong with the coffee.. We told him it was AWFUL and strong enough to crawl out of the cup. He did what we asked, but we left the nasty coffee there & found a donut shop..

[Curmudgeoness]

12. I think the same thing about their coffee. AWFUL!

I only got it once, at an airport where I was stuck. Put hair on my chest, and I have to admit that I don't need any more of that! Now I get coffee at McDonald's if I am in an airport, since there is always a Micky D's too.

[MADem]

53. McDonalds -- last time I went there which was a long while ago--served NEWMANS OWN

coffee. It was delicious!

[Vattel]

23. I once insulted a small barrista which caused him to be hit by a van with tits.

Now Anonymous is after me.

[Hekate]

33. Personally I like strong coffee. I want the spoon to feel supported as it stands up in the cup.

It's all a matter of taste, but if you ever darken their door again just be clear as to your needs. I want, generally, a plain cup of black coffee that I can then pour some half-and-half in and still taste the coffee. I like a dark-brewed, or French roast, or bold coffee. I ask for it. I look at their "brew of the day" board.

They've experimented this year with something called a "Blonde Roast" which doesn't sound attractive to me, but you might like it. You can specify that you are looking for a plain cup of coffee in a lighter roast, that you don't care for the bold flavors, and you should be able to get it off the "brew of the day."

If you don't like the frothy milky stuff (waste of money, imo) and can't see the plain cuppa joe listed because of the plethora of other offerings, ask to have it pointed out.

Better luck next eon.

[alfredo]

37. You need Turkish coffee. Make sure you down the grounds too.

That shit will wire you up.

[Hekate]

40. LOL. I leave that to my daughter!

[alfredo]

44. Make it with a bit of cardamom for sweetness. Rinse your

cup in rose water to take it to a new level.

In Eritrea we had it with popcorn or bread dipped in a spiced yogurt mixture.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

58. Been adding cardamom to our brewing at home ...

... with a French press. Fantastic addition to any brand of coffee we have tried.

[alfredo]

59. A bit of cloves is good, but a little goes a long way.

Cumin in coffee is good. So is a touch of cayenne.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

61. Thanks. Will try both.

We have some fresh cloves at home - lots of great ethnic markets in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota)

[alfredo]

66. I live in a university town, so diversity is who we are. You have to search to find

an open-faced roast beef sandwich and mashed potatoes with gravy on the side.

[Hekate]

65. Cardamom and rosewater sound divine. nt

[alfredo]

68. I'm going up and make some right now.

[Curmudgeoness]

71. What is a "bit"? nt

[alfredo]

73. a small pinch at first. Then adjust the next time you try.

[Curmudgeoness]

75. Thanks. I do have some cardamom here

that I use to make Thai coffee, but I have never tried it for any other use. I will have to try this.

[alfredo]

86. You can get Turkish grind coffee with cardamom.

Low acid coffees seem to be preferable.

The coffee grinders at the groceries have a Turkish setting, but it isn't fine enough.

[Ms. Toad]

38. Really?

I don't know that I've ever bought anything other than plain coffee at Starbucks - not sure what you find hard about it.

I like strong coffee - but I don't like the beans which most specialty stores (Starbucks included) have decided to push. It is very hard to get French or Italian Roast (And yes, I know that is a style of roasting - not a bean - but those roasts are generally dark and contain a pleasant mixture of beans which at least even out the "earthy" (think dirt) flavor that is so popular recently. )

[Capt. Obvious]

45. Cool story bro

[Gore1FL]

67. It's over roasted

They only way you can drink it is with cream and sugar.

[classykaren]

90. That is true the same thing happened to me their coffee is horrible try it plain

[840high]

9. Same here. I never will.

[tabbycat31]

15. I had my first cup of Starbucks last week

I was flying from NC to Maine and Starbucks was the only coffee past airport security. They had a captive audience.

[oberliner]

16. Ambiance

Can be good to just hang out there for a while instead of staying at home.

[OnlinePoker]

62. Plus free wi-fi. n/t

[lastlib]

32. I only use that stuff when I can't get acetone for cleaning.....

[AngryOldDem]

43. I usually get their lattes.

The cafeteria at work sells Starbucks coffee and whenever I've had it it always tastes burnt. I also don't buy the pastries at Starbucks because they just never seem fresh.

[demwing]

79. I like to sip a Starbucks Red Eye

after dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant Olive Garden, and while shopping at WalMart for Cornflakes to use as a fried chicken coating.

[Gothmog]

2. As a member of the bar, I enjoy lawyer humor

Thanks for sharing

[rurallib]

3. probably lost the Buckers more money

than it was worth to their 'brand name.'

[Xipe Totec]

5. Hew! Just in time! I was about to launch a new line of Chinese mexican food

Called Frapa China Tamale.

To be pronounced "Fraping Chinga tu madre"

I'll cease and desist and send them a check for $0.00

[Vattel]

25. jajajajaja!

[Baitball Blogger]

6. HMSC still exists?

I could have sworn they made a swift exit out of Florida during the nineties. I could be wrong.

[etherealtruth]

7. "F word"

I laughed so hard at the response I truly had to wipe away tears.

I shrieked when I read heretofore known as the F word

[rhett o rick]

8. We should all contact SB and tell them we are glad they retained full access to the F-word.

I will use it often when speaking of SB.

[lastlib]

35. So tomorrow, let's all go to the nearest Starbucks.....

and ask for a cup of "F-bomb"

[3catwoman3]

10. About a year ago...

... a local doggy day care facility that called itself "StarBarks" received the same cease-and-desist latter, and had to change the name.

I rather doubt that anyone pulled up there looking for the drive by coffee-fix window.

Years ago, in the multi-story food pavilion in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, there was a small food kiosk that served Filipino cuisine. It was named for it proprietress, and was very simply called "Sony's. She was forced to change it by the electronics giant SONY. I thought that was really petty.

[heaven05]

11. perfect example

of corporate pride and it's greed breeds pettiness. These giants have nothing to worry about as far as loss of profit. Petty capitalism is sick and disgusting. Corporate money trumps everything in this world, it just creates extreme disgust in me.

[ManiacJoe]

29. Unfortunately for the little guys,

if the owners of the trade marks do not protect the marks against everyone, they legally lose the rights to protect the marks at all.

[dbackjon]

69. Not at all

Companies work hard to establish a brand. A beer is not what Starbucks wants associated with them.


This is really not a difficult concept to understand, whether you approve of Starbucks coffee or not.


Starbucks is 100% in the right in this.

[heaven05]

76. evidently you approve of starbucks

and walmart too, right?

[dbackjon]

87. I like Starbucks

Good, mostly progressive company.

Never shop at Wal-Mart.


But, what does that have to do with anything?

Do we enforce laws only for those we like?

[heaven05]

95. 'nuff said

[tclambert]

13. Anybody know who owns the copyright to "Moby Dick?" Starbucks was named after one of its characters

--the first mate of the Pequod. So the copyright owner could fire off a cease and desist broadside aimed at Starbucks. (Okay, whaling ships didn't fire broadsides, but it sounded nautical to me.)

[ChazInAz]

18. Unfortunately

"Moby-Dick" is in the public domain, so the mega-bazillionaires can legally use the name of the first mate without any repercussions, or spending a penny. Herman Melville died a pauper after writing America's greatest novel. Mr. Bucks made a fortune selling over-priced coffee.

[Vattel]

27. Then why can't others use that name too? What if I called my coffee shop Moby Dick's

or Captain Ahab's? Would I be able to sue the beer producer who called a lager Moby Dick?

[Jim Lane]

39. Copyright and trademark are different legal issues.

Copyright means that the creator of an original work has the exclusive rights to it during the life of the copyright. When the copyright expires, the work goes into the public domain, and no one has that kind of exclusive right.

Trademark means that the owner is using it to identify a product (goods or services) in the stream of commerce. The key is that the trademark owner is entitled to be protected from the danger of consumer confusion, meaning that someone other than the trademark owner is "passing off" a different product as being that of the trademark owner.

As others have commented, big corporations can throw their weight around and force small operators to give in regardless of the merits of the case. The small company could fight the lawsuit, win, and still come out very much the loser, because of the attorney's fees and the drain on the energy of the sole proprietor or the handful of people running the business.

If the cases were to go to court, with both sides sparing no expense: My guess is that, in the situation in the OP, Starbucks would win. "Frappucino" and "frappicino" sound the same, look very much the same, and both refer to a product that people can drink. On the other hand, in the "Sony's" case described in #3 upthread, I think the big company would lose. The product areas are so different (a diner versus consumer electronics) that there's no realistic danger of confusion. That was just bullying on Sony's part.

[FreeJoe]

46. Lexis Lexus

A good example of that was when LexisNexis sued Toyota over the use of the name Lexus. If I recall correctly the court ruled that nobody was going to confuse the luxury carmaker's products with the business software companies products and so they kept the name.

[dbackjon]

72. Correct - just as Budget Rent-a-Car can prevent others from using Budget

as a word relating to CAR RENTALS, they can't prevent a say "Budget Motel"

[Vattel]

51. Thanks for the information!

[tsuki]

30. For now. nt

[freshwest]

92. Oh, I thought they snagged it off this TV classic:

The guy on the left. I found another pic of him and he could be Mitten's clone, no kidding. Same face. I read the show was supposed to be a take off of the Mormon stories about Kolob.

The woman in the Starbucks icon has been called an image of Isis, mother of Horus and wife of Osiris.









...In those Starbucks images, Isis has six strands of wavy hair. Six is the number of the Kaballistic “Macrocosm,” the universe. It is the number of sides of the three-dimensional cube. The wavy lines symbolize vibration: the root nature of all substance.

Isis wears a crown on her head which is a cut up pentagram that represents the world of spirit. This crown is known to represent the presence of spirit hidden in worldly desire.

Isis appears as fish to symbolize Pisces...

http://transmissionsmedia.com/starbucks-revealed/

But your linking it to Moby Dick, and the whale, which some might call a fish, that may be it. Ah well, who cares what they were thinking when they came up with their name.

I wonder what the owner meant by rthe name and the symbolism. I guess no copyright infringement for something that old... Tired of these corporations trying to own WORDS.

[Archaic]

14. Hate to be a downer, but they kind of have to do that.

If they don't act to protect their trademark, it can be rendered useless. And I mean legally.

If they let 2 small places use the name, they can't go after a 3rd that really does it.

I wish I could remember the trademark terms of art for this sort of thing, but I'm a computer dork, not a lawyer. But I've seen this kind of thing quite a few times.

But it is an epic response. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially that out of all of the popular STL teams, he cheers for the hockey team.

[oberliner]

17. I agree with you

Except about the letter being enjoyable.

[reACTIONary]

22. The tradmark is lost when it becomes...

... a generic term for the product rather than a term that distinguishes a specific type / manufacture of that product.

Ping-Pong started out as a brand name, but because the generic name for the game. So anyone can use the name Ping-Pong now.

[mac56]

50. Xerox. Kleenex. Jell-o. Vaseline. Band-Aid.

Xerox spends a ton of money every year, establishing that not every copier is a Xerox.

[reACTIONary]

98. As a former empolyee of Kodak...

... it is my DUTY to never use the word Xerox as a verb! We were instructed to always use the phrase "photo copy" and we actually made sure amongst ourselves that we were all in compliance. To this day, I cannot say "let me Xerox this for you" - it doesn't feel right.

Paul Simon's song Kodachrome was recorded and released before Kodak was aware of it, but they required the record to carry a statement that it is Kodak's registered trademark.

[mountain grammy]

19. I love Mr Britton's letter. I hope he gets lots of publicity and business thanks to the

big bucks of Starbucks. And Starbucks protects their brand names, their high price lawyers earn their pay and all's well with the world.

[Gore1FL]

70. Now that I know it exists I'll go there.

It's about 1/2 hour away.

[reACTIONary]

20. All right! Exit 6 is located a mere...

... 6 miles from my childhood home! 8 miles by tractor if you follow Greens Bottom Rd. Nice to see the home town in the news.

[johnp3907]

21. I hate coffe. Love tea.

On a 10 hour drive recently I stopped at a Starbucks to use the restroom and figured I could use an iced tea for the road. I ordered their overpriced black iced tea and got a a cup of flavorless tan colored water. I pointed out how weak it was, so they gave me a new cup of slightly darker tan colored water.

[Hekate]

26. Ew -- that's something HQ should hear about. I have a friend who lives on their iced green tea...

It's quite tasty and up to strength, too.

You got a gen-you-wine dud of an outlet and someone should be told, if you remember at all where you were.

[Michigan-Arizona]

36. Same here

Same here but mine was flavorless tan colored hot chocolate. That was & will be my last purchase from that over priced place.......

[SalviaBlue]

60. You have to order it "no water"

then they don't dilute the original brew.

[Hekate]

24. That response was a thing of beauty. While Starbucks ("Mr. Bucks") did bring up the standard....

... considerably for publicly consumed coffee across this land (I remember Ye Olde Days, and the coffee stunk) -- and they do treat their employees like human beings -- at some point they became too big for their britches. Jeff Britton has done a beautiful job of whittling them back to human proportions, even if only for a moment. If nothing else, this letter should live forever on the internet, affording us all a moment of mirth.

[bread_and_roses]

49. Only till they want to organize - or get paid more than <$9.00 hr

See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/16/companies-pay-americans_n_4288090.html

https://www.facebook.com/starbucksunion

or search "Starbucks" and "IWW"

SB has done a great job branding itself as "progressive" or "liberal" or something ... but as per usual, when it comes to $$ or worker power, they are no different than other Neo-Feudalists

[Pretzel_Warrior]

28. This is awesome. I used to do vinyl siding up that way

In summer after high school. We salute you, sarcastic letter-writing man!

[SCVDem]

31. I never could understand

Why people pay so much money for burnt coffee.

I had a charbucks some 20 years ago and hated it.

So many who need to be sheeple by being seen with this swill.

Crappy coffee and bullshit Starbucks speak. I would rather just have a cup of Joe from a greasy spoon.

As stated, for the cost of one cup O crap, I can buy a pound of good stuff and brew my own!

Venti my ass!

[Major Nikon]

41. Many people prefer dark roasts

I'm not one of them, but if people weren't buying it, Starbucks wouldn't be selling so much of it. I think many people develop a taste for darker roasts because the preground coffee in a can so many buy loses much of its flavor unless it's a dark roast. Darker roasts also tend to be lighter in acidity.

[ohheckyeah]

74. I get their Columbian

beans and grind some every morning for coffee and have a bottled Frappucino every afternoon.

I don't think it tastes burned....it just actually has a coffee taste, unlike a lot of other coffees you can buy.

[Major Nikon]

77. With lighter roasts you taste subtle differences in the bean varietal

With darker roasts you tend to taste the roast. Both approaches have their merits. There's also many steps between beans roasted to a blonde color and those roasted to nearly black and oily.

With lighter roasts it's more important to get the beans freshly roasted as those subtle notes will degrade considerably not long after roasting. Although I have roasted my own beans, these days I get beans shipped directly from roasters soon after roasting. Within 2 weeks out of roast I can already start to tell a difference. With darker roasts many of the subtle aromatics are already lost during the roasting process, however more sugars in the bean are caramelized. The acidity is also significantly reduced with darker roasts.

[ohheckyeah]

78. Here's to the nectar of the gods:

[KentuckyWoman]

34. I'm sure I peed my pants a little laughing so hard.

Pure genius and that guy's business is going to do rather well moving forward I expect.

[onethatcares]

42. the hell with their coffee

I go in, take their coffee grounds (even go as far as asking them for the ones in back)and leave.

Put the grounds on my garden.

Brew my own coffee.

[jtuck004]

47. "Lucky for us, we're poor spelers".

:roifl:

They HAVE to get a beer and market it as "The F Word".

[Whiskeytide]

48. I want to see the next bill.....

Received and Reviewed response from Exit 6.... 0.3
Legal Research ............................................ 1.1
Re-read response to determine seriousness .... 0.4
Legal Research ............................................ 2.2
Consult with client re same ........................... 0.8
To Exit 6 to verify cessation of activity ........... 3.9
Legal Research ........................................... 2.9
Report to client ........................................... 1.1

12.7 hours @ 4.25 ...................................$5,397.50

-File Expense- Travel to Exit 6 ...................$2,186.00
-File Expense- tab @ Exit 6........................$ 837.75

Total due ............................................... $8,420.65

[MADem]

55. Ooooops!!! You forgot the six buck check!!!!

There's got to be a cost associated with receiving it, processing it, handing it off to Starbucks, etc!!!!

Other than that, I'll wager your bill is pretty accurate, the usurious bastards!

Down to the bar tab!

[Whiskeytide]

57. Good catch...

... it would cost the client at least $100 to get that $6. But they'd get the moral victory!!!

[MADem]

63. Your billing talents, notwithstanding the check, are absolutely superb.

Hilarity ensues!

[MADem]

52. That letter will go far and wide, and make that pub a BUNDLE!!!

I especially loved the "...we're poor spelers" comment!

They must have been peeing their pants writing this thing--what sheer joy!

If I am ever in Cottleville, Missouri, I will make it a POINT to stop in there and spend some money. Something I'll never do when I see a Starbucks!

[AtheistCrusader]

54. Starbucks doesn't have any choice in the matter. They HAVE to do this.

This is the state of copyright law in the US. If SB doesn't aggressively defend their trademarks, they lose them.

http://www.blackweb20.com/2009/11/25/the-consequences-of-not-protecting-and-defending-your-trademarks/
http://www.noreklaw.com/why_protect_trademark.htm

"Losing a trademark

What you can lose, if it gets into common use, is your trademark.

This has happened to aspirin, escalator, butterscotch, zipper, yo-yo, thermos, and heroin.

Companies like Xerox, Google, and LEGO fight hard to avoid having their words become generic synonyms for “photocopy,” “search” and “building block.” They do it by reminding journalists and everyone else not to use the words generically, and trying to convince dictionary creators and trademark authorities that this hasn’t already happened.

Google in particular is having a really hard time at this."

http://news.cnet.com/Google-wants-people-to-stop-googling/2100-1030_3-6106479.html
That is NOT an April fools prank.



So, lesson number 2; copyright lawyers have shitty taste in making their websites.

[valerief]

82. Seems like that's a simple enough point to put in a cease and desist letter.

Only they didn't put it in the letter.

[AtheistCrusader]

83. IP lawyers are strange that way.

[valerief]

84. Ha! Sounds like a nice way of saying they're dicks. nt

[AtheistCrusader]

93. I only know a couple but...

From my limited sample set, they are interesting people. (I would not call them dicks though)

[valerief]

97. IP = interesting people. Got it! :)

[NJCher]

99. my sample's not limited

And it's over a period of 40 years.

Trust me, they're dicks.

And you must have found the only interesting ones in the whole U.S.

They have no personality skills whatsoever. That's why they go into the law. They don't know how to handle things any other way than "by the book."

They are to be pitied.


Cher

[Hassin Bin Sober]

89. I assume the verbiage matches what they would have to include in an action...

... against this business - or anyone else if the subject of prior defense comes up.

"as you know" and "incontestable status" etc.


Also:

"mark is strong famous and firmly established" ...and .... "cause confusion mistake or deception"

... probably references case law or statutes.

[oldandhappy]

56. Hope Exit Six names one of their beers 'The F Word"!!

hilarious

SB has no sense of humor. But the rest of us do!

[MADem]

64. I agree....and maybe a companion ale called Cease and Desist! nt

[oldandhappy]

85. Yep!

[DeSwiss]

80. Shakespeare was right.

- Too. Many. Lawyers.

K&R

''Whatever is funny is subversive, every joke is ultimately a custard pie... a dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion.'' ~George Orwell

[valerief]

81. Hilarious. They should rename the beer CrappyChino. That's far enough off to

avoid a lawsuit.

I can see the poster for it.
CrappyChino. Not be confused with anything sold by Starbucks.

[ananda]

88. Brilliant use of reductio ad absurdum.

LOL

[northoftheborder]

91. How to drink a Starbucks' coffee when there is no other choice:

This has been suggested above, but it took me a long time to find this out. (I HATE their coffee - bitter, burned, only good when smothered with sugar and creamy topping.) I usually only want a small sized plain coffee with cream. So, when SB is the only choice, order a light roast, or "blonde", and tell them to leave plenty of room for hot water and cream.

I've gotten really picky with my coffee, and pay more to buy fresh-roasted to fix at home. I drink only one cup a day, so want it to be good!

By the way the absolute WORST coffee I ever drank was from Dairly Queen (think this burger chain is only in the south).

[mimi85]

94. I remember on one of our first trips to Seattle

in the early 90s. There were maybe 2-3 Starbux and a few other coffee shops. They were actually a pretty cool little company. When we got back home to SoCal, we looked EVERYWHERE for an espresso machine. We never, ever thought a place like Starbux would do so well here. BTW, still have the now unused machine, if anyone happens to be in our area.

This was truly a funny story, the letter is priceless!

[DeeDeeNY]

96. Reminds me of this Groucho Marx gem

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1627230