Local brewer's response to Starbucks cease-and-desist goes viral
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A logo sits on display in a window of a Starbucks Corp. store in
Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Photographer:
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Starbucks
Local brewer's response to Starbucks cease-and-desist goes
viral
By Ian [email protected] Dec 31, 2013
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A logo sits on display in a window of a Starbucks Corp. store in
Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Photographer:
Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
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A local craft brewery's tongue-in-cheek response to a
cease-and-desist letter from attorneys for Starbucks has become a
viral sensation, with mentions on NPR's "Morning Edition" radio
program and the website Gawker.
"It's just been insane," says Jeff Britton, owner of Exit 6 Pub
and Brewery in Cottleville.
The story began in early December, when Britton received a
letter from a law firm that represents Starbucks in trademark
disputes. The coffee giant had learned that three users of Untappd,
a social-media app for beer fans, had "checked in" to (that is,
drank) an Exit 6 beer called Frappicino.
This name, the law firm noted in its letter, was "phonetically
identical" to Starbucks' trademarked frozen drink Frappuccino.
Theletter ended with a stern "request" that Britton cease using the
name Frappicino.
In fact, Exit 6 doesn't make a beer called Frappicino. The name
refers to a combination of pours of the brewery's Vanilla Cream Ale
and a Founders Brewing Co. beer.
On Dec. 26, Britton posted photos of the law firm's letter as
well as his reply on Exit 6's Facebook page.Calling the beer in
question the "F Word" instead of Frappicino to avoid the "risk of
further lawsuits," Britton wrote, "...we meant no deception,
confusion, or mistaking in the naming of the beer the F Word. We
never thought that our beer drinking customers would have thought
that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would have
actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores
located a few blocks away."
Britton continued, "We are bad people. We feel shame."
In addition to promising not to use the F Word any more, Britton
enclosed a check for $6, which he claimed was the profit made from
the beers that the three Untappd users had drunk.
"We realize Mr Bucks paid [the lawyer] more than Exit 6 made
last year," he wrote. "We just want to help a business like
Starbucks. Us small business owners need to stick together."
Britton has yet to hear from Starbucks or the law firm that
contacted him on the company's behalf. Meanwhile, the media storm
shows no signs of slowing down. He will appear via satellite on Fox
News' "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning, and he continues to
field phone calls from TV networks, newspapers, magazines and "so
many damn blogs."
The question every one, including this reporter, asks: Has
Starbucks cashed the check yet?
"Not at this time," Britton reports.
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