BEULAH, Mich. – A small family-owned cafe in Beulah, Mich. is being forced to change its name after a couple was accused by coffee store chain Caribou Coffee of trademark infringement.
The Grand Rapids Press reports Eric and Kelly Chorley have to change the name of the Blue Caribou Cafe in Beulah. The coffee store chain claims the names and logos are too similar.
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The chain filed suit. An agreement was signed off on by Kelly Chorley that has stiff penalties if conditions are violated by the cafe.
Caribou Coffee said in a statement that it "engaged in this litigation to protect our coffeehouse name and existing trademarks." The company said it has contributed to a "GoFundMe fundraising page to help with their rebranding efforts."
On the fundraising page, Blue Caribou also explains how Eric Chorley's injuries from car accident have forced him out of work. The cafe has had to drain its savings to replace him.
Everything that exists with our name and logo on it has been ordered to be destroyed, not used, and redone with a new name. We are simply not in a financial position to even begin to tackle all of this, being a fairly new small business that depends on summer seasonal sales, and following Eric's car accident in November that resulted in 7 broken ribs, 3 months off of work, and draining our savings to pay staff to replace him all winter.