Coming soon to Phoenix – Black Cat Coffee. I wonder if they’ll be serving Intelligentsia’s espresso blend by the same name? Black Cat Coffee 4730 E. Indian School Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85018 Phone: (602) 553-2228 Twitter: @blackcatcoffee
Tom Maegdlin I wonder if they’ll be served a cease and desist letter from Intelli… -2 Reply August 9, 2011
Chris Tingom Probably. They have a trademark registered. http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4007:bs76kj.3.6 0 Reply August 9, 2011
Don Hall Hi, I’m Don, and along with my wife Tima, we will be opening the Black Cat Coffee House. I appreciate your comments, and I want to respond to them as best as I can. At the time we named and started our business, we were unaware of the Black Cat name associated with Intelligentsia (not that it would make a difference). And, it has never been our intent to infringe upon their trademark and/or name. Also, it is interesting that there are several “Black Cat” entities around that conduct business in a manner “similar” to how we plan to conduct ours (that do not appear to serve Intelligentsia products). Please reference the links below for a few of them. http://www.blackcatcoffeehouse.com http://www.theblackcatcafe.com http://www.blackcatchef.com 0 Reply August 16, 2011
Don Hall I should offer a response to my own comment. When I previously indicated the following: “not that it would make a difference”, I did not mean that we would use the name regardless of the trademark. I meant that being unaware of the trademark may not be a good excuse for using the name. Thanks. 0 Reply August 16, 2011
Steve Either way Don…..I wish you the very best and mucho success on your shop!!! Steve Press Coffee Roasters 0 Reply August 18, 2011
Desert Cat Trademark infringement aside, it is not ethical to take a concept/ name from someone else and use it without their consent, which is what is being done in this case. 0 Reply August 18, 2011
Victor It’s a unique looking logo which may differentiate it enough. I see nothing unethical about it at all and wish you the best with your new shop. Good luck! 0 Reply August 19, 2011
Brian Don, I think it’s great that your venture getting so many people’s panties in a bundle. At this point, any news is good news. This will certainly give you a big boost at opening. Get ready! We’ll be there. 0 Reply September 9, 2011
Kristina I don’t think it is unethical at all to use the name Black Cat. It is in common usage in many ways and I don’t believe 2 words together can be copyrighted. 0 Reply October 10, 2011
Kim Hello, I’ve tried to call, and the message states that you aren’t open yet! 0 Reply October 14, 2011
Dean First, kudos to small business owners, Don and his wife! Second, Black Cat is trademarked (per USPTO) for coffee as a beverage, not as a coffee house / QSR. Furthermore, the Black Cat logo by Intelligentsia is completely different than the Black Cat Coffee House graphic/logo. I would advise Don to spend the money (about $350) to get “Black Cat” trademarked as a coffee QSR…just in case. Anyway, so happy Black Cat Coffee House has opened and will be there tomorrow morning! 0 Reply October 16, 2011
Don Hall Sorry about that, Kim. I forgot to change the message. But, I updated it (yesterday, I think). So, it should be okay now. 0 Reply October 18, 2011
Tony You cannot copyright or trade mark ordinary words, names, and phrases. You can copyright graphics, including word art graphics. Therefore, unless they use someone else’s graphics or someone else has registered the exact same business name in their state, they are good to go. For example, if your name is McDonald, you can open a restaurant named McDonald’s legally. However, if you try to use the Golden Arches in your logo or copy any of their “look and feel”, you are going to hear from them. “Black Cat” is hardly a proprietary or uniquely creative name. Love your graphic. Good Luck! 0 Reply December 2, 2012
