Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Wednesday 11 March 2020
A25

Panda and poke: Restaurant trademarks can stir legal fights

By TERRY TANG restaurants, has more than
Associated Press 1,900 locations nationwide.
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — When The company says it has a
picking a name for their "legal obligation to consis-
Asian-Mexican fusion res- tently protect them" but is
taurant in suburban Phoe- hopeful for a resolution.
nix, Paul and Nicole Fan "We believe there is a path
settled on "Panda Libre," forward that allows for this
hoping the mix of China's small business to operate
iconic bear and the Span- while respecting our in-
ish word for "free" would tellectual property rights,
signal to customers the and we remain open to a
type of cuisine it offered. conversation with those in-
That decision could cost volved," the company said
them dearly. Chinese take- in an email.
out chain Panda Express Nicole Fan says nobody has
sued them in federal court entered Panda Libre think-
last month alleging trade- ing it was a Panda Express.
mark infringement. She points to the logo — a
The lawsuit showcases how panda dressed in a cape
trademark law can collide and mask like a Mexican
with an evolving dining wrestler — and the fact
landscape, where restau- that there are other eater-
rateurs peddling Asian or ies that use "panda."
Asian "inspired" foods often Panda Restaurant Group
pick a name that instantly said it takes legal action
invokes a connection to on a "case-by-case basis."
that culture. But getting This Feb. 27, 2020 photo shows the inside of Panda Libre, an Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant, in It also says it settled several
a trademark for the new Gilbert, Ariz. copyright infringement is-
name can lead to ugly and Associated Press sues without litigation last
sometimes public clashes said. "Otherwise, you're is asking for all of Panda Li- "Panda" for restaurant and year.
over ownership and cultur- explaining to people, 'Oh, bre's profits since it opened food products. Other efforts to trademark
al appropriation. In recent at Jack's, we sel l southern last year in Gilbert, about "If you were selling pandas cultural words have been
years, businesses have Chinese food.'" 20 miles (32 kilometers) east under the name 'Panda,' met with fierce online
butted heads over whether Panda Express' parent of Phoenix. you probably wouldn't be backlash.
a restaurant or food truck company, Rosemead, Cal- "Oftentimes it's overstated able to do that because In 2009, loyalists to chef Roy
can legally own the right to ifornia-based Panda Res- — the damages — to get it's describing literally what Choi's Kogi Korean taco
use words rooted in Asian taurant Group, says it has the attention of the defen- you're doing," said Mark truck went online to accuse
American Pacific Islander owned the trademark for dant," said Charles Valaus- Simpson, a veteran intel- Tex Mex chain Baja Fresh of
cultures like "aloha" and "Panda" for Chinese food kas, a Chicago intellectual lectual property lawyer in stealing his concept.
"poke." services since 2001. The property attorney who has Philadelphia. "It's like trying The Los Angeles-based
The growing popularity chain wants a court injunc- represented restaurants. to trademark the words truck's name came from
of fast-casual restaurants tion and for Panda Libre to "It's not like (Panda Express 'grocery store.' You could a combination of "gogi,"
like Thai, Indian or poke — destroy signs, social media is) going to sit there and trademark 'Whole Foods' the Korean word for meat,
diced and marinated raw posts and other materials wait till every last penny is the grocery store." and "K" for Korean BBQ.
fish — has led to a rush for with the name. drained from a bank ac- Panda Express, which An- Baja Fresh had applied to
ownership of certain as- "It would be like starting a count." drew and Peggy Cherng trademark "Kogi" for its own
pects of that culture, said new company. That alone Experts say Panda Express is launched in 1983 as an line of Korean tacos and
Telly Wong of IW Group there is hundreds of thou- within its right to trademark offshoot of their Panda Inn merchandise.q
marketing agency in New sands of dollars in this res-
York City. Having a name taurant," Nicole Fan said.
that conveys authenticity "Going through this whole
is crucial when consumers ordeal, the lawsuit, will
make snap judgments, he bankrupt us."
said. On top of punitive damag- FOR RENT
"Sometimes you need that es and legal fees, Panda
cultural shorthand to con- Express, which generated
vey that message," Wong $2 billion in sales last year,

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