Can you own Seattle? A couple of coffee companies want to.
Multinational company Nestlé has filed a petition to cancel a word mark registered to canned cold brew maker Seattle Strong Coffee Co. with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect its own trademark for Seattle’s Best. The Swiss food and beverage conglomerate contends that it has been “damaged” by Seattle Strong’s word mark and “consumers will likely be confused, mistaken, or deceived as to the source of the parties’ respective goods,” according to the petition filed on April 1.
Nestlé’s complaint is focused on the use of “Seattle” and “coffee” between the two brands’ trademarks, irrespective of color or design in the logos.
Five years after launching, Seattle Strong registered its word mark in June 2022. Seattle’s Best word mark was originally filed in July 2003. Nestlé acquired the Seattle’s Best brand from Starbucks in October 2022, after buying the rights to Starbucks’ retail CPG business for nearly $7.2 billion in May 2018.
The Swiss company is arguing that it has used the Seattle’s Best mark in commerce “well before” Seattle Strong filed its trademark and before the company’s first use of the name in March 2017.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think they have a good case,” Seattle Strong’s founder and CEO Evan Oeflein told BevNET. “You can’t own the name Seattle, and they are saying they own Seattle’s coffee, effectively.”
Oeflein pointed out that his company doesn’t use an apostrophe and there are marked differences between their respective products.
Seattle Strong makes three varieties of nitrogen-infused cold brew – Classic, Bold and Bright – available in 12 oz. cans. Although Seattle’s Best makes a multi-serve bottle of cold brew, the brand is most known for its beans, grounds, K-cups and wholesale foodservice business.
“This fight isn’t just ours, it’s for every small business that’s ever been told to get out of the way. It’s about who gets to claim ownership of the name of our city,” Oeflein said in a press release statement. “We don’t believe any company, especially one based over 5,000 miles away in Switzerland, should be able to tell Seattleites they can’t use the name ‘Seattle’.”
While Oeflein and his company’s legal team are optimistic that they have a good chance of winning the case, “[Nestlé] could fight this for 20 years and never blink an eye on the cost,” he said.
As a result, it launched a GoFundMe page at the end of June to support its legal expenses and has raised over $5,000 towards its goal of $10,000.
“They basically want to silence us,” he said. “It neuters our ability to grow so that we can’t get to a point where we are a threat to them.”