Judge Blocks Gov't From Upgrading Email System... >>
<< Two Years After The RIAA Suggested ISPs Were...
 tdicon 

Trademark

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Jan 6th 2011 1:06am




Filed Under:
trademark

Companies:
ihop


IHOP Drops Trademark Lawsuit Against IHOP

from the will-they-settle-it-over-a-prayer-breakfast? dept

Back in September, we noted that restaurant chain IHOP (International House of Pancakes) was suing another IHOP (International House of Prayer), claiming trademark infringement. Trademarks are supposed to only cover the areas of commerce you're in, but IHOP (food) claimed that since IHOP (church) was serving food at some of its locations, it represented infringement. We doubted that there was much likelihood of confusion between the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity menu option and saving your eternal soul. Copycense alerts us to the news that IHOP (food) has now dropped the lawsuit against the church, as the two sides have agreed to settle the matter out of court, at what I can only guess will be a combination prayer breakfast and negotiation session.

8 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jan 6th, 2011 @ 3:27am

    don't forget the lunch and dinner selections that IHOP offers

    lunch and dinner prayers of course...

    at the house of prayer that is...

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    icon
    Joe (profile), Jan 6th, 2011 @ 5:14am

    And some people wonder why people dislike lawyers.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jan 6th, 2011 @ 7:12am

    Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity menu option and saving your eternal soul

    Sometimes food and religion can overlap. What about the Pastafarians? Besides, I've heard the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity referred to as 'heavenly' at least once in my life. I think they would have stood a very good chance.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, Jan 6th, 2011 @ 7:41am

    I like the International House of Potheads

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

    •  
      icon
      Gabriel Tane (profile), Jan 6th, 2011 @ 8:51am

      Re:

      Actually, I think that would be abbreviated IHOPH... which would be pronounced "eye-hoff". And the last thing you want is a bunch of German Hasslehoff fans banging down your door.

       

      [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    icon
    TheRegulator (profile), Jan 6th, 2011 @ 4:04pm

    IHOP and Dilution

    Did the commercial IHOP assert a claim based on dilution? As I recall, if the trademark is a household name, others cannot use it, regardless of marketplace confusion, because such use would dilute the value of the trademark. Another consideration is trademark abandonment, a la Kleenex and Xerox. As scary as the suit sounds, it might have been seen as necessary posturing to protect the mark in the future.

    This may have been one of those very rare case in which corp. counsel acted properly. As for me, I'm a Denny's lover.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]

  •  
    icon
    AutoTweet (profile), Jan 16th, 2011 @ 12:05pm

    Dumb. If you pray over a meal of pancakes at the restaurant are you interferring with the church's role.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Judge Blocks Gov't From Upgrading Email System... >>
<< Two Years After The RIAA Suggested ISPs Were...
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Saturday

9:00am: Awesome Stuff: Dealer's Choice (1)

Friday

7:39pm: In Defense Of Digital Freedom: It's Time To Get Beyond 'Cyber' Hyperbole (24)
6:40pm: Xbox One Release: Tons Of Questions, Very Few Answers (87)
5:37pm: Think DOJ Spying On Reporters Was 'Unprecedented'? Think Again (6)
5:00pm: DailyDirt: DIY Soda (Pop Or Whatever You Call Carbonated Beverages) (8)
3:51pm: Petition Asks Obama To Support Treaty For The Blind, Rather Than Siding With Hollywood (15)
2:46pm: Fair Use For Me, But Not For Thee (27)
1:45pm: Another Court Tells Prenda To Pay Up On Attorneys Fees (21)
12:45pm: If You Thought Copyright Was A Mess On Earth, What Does It Look Like In Space? (23)
11:45am: Guy Sues Twitter For Taking Away His Twitter Handle (12)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This