Courts

Things Are Heating Up Between Chipotle And Its Competing Chicken Hawker

What a fowl controversy.

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Retro angry man shouting

Change the name!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Except when it comes to trademarks, patents, and intellectual property — there it is just liability. And depending on where you go for lunch after clocking those hours at Cravath, this case could hit close to home. Sweetgreen dropped a new menu item and Chipotle is having none of it. From Reuters:

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc sued fast-casual dining rival Sweetgreen Inc in California federal court Tuesday, claiming the salad chain’s new “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl” violates its trademark rights.

Chipotle’s lawsuit said Sweetgreen’s “very similar and directly competitive” bowl is an attempt to capitalize on the Chipotle brand and likely to confuse consumers.

Sweetgreen said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit and does not comment on pending litigation.

At first glance, this seems silly. The mere use of a shared word does not a trademark violation make — if it did, there would have been a fun lawsuit between The Red Hot Chili Peppers and a certain restaurant chain that keeps finding its way near movie theatres. Chipotle as an adjective seems generic enough. No one reads chipotle mayo or chipotle sandwich and immediately feels the sting of being overcharged for guacamole. But like many trademark cases, it is the surrounding circumstances that make the inspiration look a little more like appropriation.

Chipotle’s lawsuit said Sweetgreen advertises the bowl using the word “Chipotle” in the same font and style as the Mexican-food chain and uses a background with Chipotle’s trademarked “Adobo Red” color.

The lawsuit said Sweetgreen continued infringing despite a cease-and-desist letter and phone call from Chipotle’s legal department. Chipotle said it suggested changing the name to something that uses “chipotle in lower-case, in a textual sentence, to accurately describe ingredients of its menu item,” like a “chicken bowl with chipotle.”

The “chicken bowl with chipotle” would get abbreviated as a CBWC which is not nearly as catchy as the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl’s abbreviation of CCBB. Is this a defense? Yes. Is it an affirmative one? Time will tell.

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Want the scoop on this bowl case? Keep Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc v. Sweetgreen Inc, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, No. 8:23-cv-00596 in mind. No need to worry; it won’t cost you an extra $3.

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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