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Starbucks vs. Sam Bucks
Business fights over naming rights often have a David and Goliath storyline -- a mighty corporation dispatches lawyers to run a minor competitor out of business.
But choosing sides - separating the bad guys from the good -- isn't always simple.
Minyanville looks at 10 battles over company names, including the bid by coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX, news) to force a businesswoman in Astoria, Ore., to change her café's name from Sam Buck's Coffee.
Buck was the maiden name of Sam Lundberg, the coffee shop's owner. Astoria was Starbucks-free at the time, and Lundberg never imagined that a coffee chain headquartered 175 miles away in Seattle would pursue such a hard line against her.
So in 2002, when Starbucks told her to stop selling coffee under the name Sam Buck's, and offered $500 for her troubles, Lundberg declined and called the media. Her story went national.
But Starbucks pressed on, and in 2006 a federal judge ruled that Lundgren had violated Starbucks' trademark. Aware that public opinion was not on its side, however, Starbucks declined to seek damages from Lundgren.
Go to Minyanville to find out the new name for Sam Buck's Coffee.
Victoria's Secret vs. Victor's Little Secret
In 1998, Victor Moseley of Elizabethtown, Ky., began selling lingerie and adult videos out of a shop he called Victor's Secret.
Bad move. Victor received a cease-and-desist letter from Victoria's Secret, a unit of Limited Brands (LTD, news). Victor and his wife, Cathy, responded by renaming the business Victor's Little Secret, but the retail chain was still not thrilled and took the matter to federal court, where a judge ruled against the couple. The Moseleys changed the name again, to Cathy's Secret, but kept the legal battle alive.
The case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sided with the Moseleys, saying Limited Brands would have to show that it had been hurt by the operations of a similarly named business in Kentucky.
Limited Brands appealed. A subsequent amendment to U.S. trademark law bolstered the company's legal position; last May, an appeals court cited the new law in ruling against the Moseleys.
Go to Minyanville to learn about the Moseleys' next move.
IHOP vs. IHOP
Imagine getting a hankering for a stack of hotcakes. You head straight to IHOP. But before you can say "Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity," your waitress is speaking in tongues and your cup overfloweth with the Holy Spirit.
Chances are you've mistakenly entered the other IHOP -- the International House of Prayer. If you stay, the church -- founded 10 years ago in Kansas City, Mo. -- will have gained another convert.
The International House of Pancakes was launched in 1958 and now has nearly 1,500 outlets nationwide. For most of the decade, the establishments co-existed.
