hello
i have a question, i hope anyone can help me.
I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very good
reputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...)
a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, and
his menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of the
dishes!),they copyed everything from me!
the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking his
restaurant is mine!
what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me??
thank you very much!!
amir

Amir wrote:
i have a question, i hope anyone can help me. I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very good reputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...) a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, and his menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of the dishes!),they copyed everything from me! the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking his restaurant is mine! what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me?? thank you very much!!

Talk to an intellectual property lawyer. If customers are actually
confused, seems to me that he's violated your common law trademarks.

Stu

amirtenen@walla.co.il (Amir) wrote in message
news:<hp7bg09o36mtbbbblbbp3e8goe1anpp429@4ax.com>... hello i have a question, i hope anyone can help me. I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very good reputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...) a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, and his menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of the dishes!),they copyed everything from me! the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking his restaurant is mine! what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me??

Are the names of your dishes traditional names, such as "tandoori
chicken", or "chicken tikka korma"? If so, then you've a tough road
ahead of you. Unless you are able to trademark your dish names (think
"Big Mac" or "Whopper") then why would someone else not be able to use
the same names?

Extrapolate your example to an American restaurant, that serves "meat
loaf", "hot beef sandwich", etc., dishes. Do you think that
restaurant would be able to sue another diner for using the same names
for its dishes?

Amir wrote: hello i have a question, i hope anyone can help me. I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very good reputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...) a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, and his menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of the dishes!),they copyed everything from me! the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking his restaurant is mine! what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me?? thank you very much!!

I am not aware of any way you can restrict menu items to your menu/store
only unless you use unique recipe names and have them trademarked or
otherwise protected using some intellectual property protection. Since you
don't mention having taken any of those steps, I'm guessing you have not.

For example, if you opened a restaurant featuring Lamb Vindaloo there is
nothing preventing (in this country) someone opening restaurants on both
sides of you and across the street also offering Lamb Vindaloo. They can
also hire away your chef too. Now, if you call your restaurant, "East of
Bombay" and are able to trademark a dish called "Lamb East of Bombay" then
another restaurant cannot offer a dish of that name, but I think they could
offer one that tasted the same by sending in tasters and guessing at your
recipe or hiring away your chef or other industrial espionage.

I don't want to cause you distress here, Amir, but I am skeptical at your
posting that your customers are so stupid to think they are at your
restuarant just by similar menu items. They are at a different store, and
probably on a different street, but even if not, then at a different
address. Is the decor the exact same? Are the waiters the same? The dish
style and the flatware the same? I agree that once you had a unique offering
that now they have a 50/50 choice so your business must have fallen off, but
not due to deception, but due to competition.

-paul
ianal

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 20:21:24 -0400, amirtenen@walla.co.il (Amir) wrote:
helloi have a question, i hope anyone can help me.I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very goodreputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...)a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, andhis menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of thedishes!),they copyed everything from me!the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking hisrestaurant is mine!what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me??thank you very much!!amir

It's possible you have a trademark case, but only a lawyer who practices
in that field could give real advice on it. You say things like "almost
similar" which sounds like it could be said of any Indian restaurant,
but then you say that people are confused into thinking the restaurant
is yours.

There are many factors in trademark infringement, but one of them is
that a trademark is meant to distinguish one source's products from another,
and if someone is confusing customers, that might meet that one factor.

You don't necessarily need to have actually registered a trademark if you
have branded your product in some clear way, by a name or a picture or
sometimes even a color scheme, but you might need to in order to sue.

You might not even have any case at all. If your restaurant really is
famous and profitable, though, it sounds worth defending if you can.
But you haven't provided enough details to know for sure, even if I
were a lawyer, which I'm not, and you shouldn't, because you don't
want anything you say here coming out in court.

You need to consult a lawyer who works with these issues. Maybe
trademark isn't even the right thing, but it might be worth checking
out. The difficulty is not so much in figuring out whether you have a
case but whether the cost and acrimony of a lawsuit is worth whatever
you'll gain by doing it, such as making the other restaurant change
its color scheme, or otherwise distinguishing the two. It might also
be that a strongly worded letter from a lawyer would let your competitor
know he's on shaky ground and solve the problem without a lawsuit.

But only a lawyer can tell you that, and it sounds like your livelihood
might be at stake. You shouldn't base any decision you make on some
person's idle comments from a newsgroup.

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 20:21:24 -0400, amirtenen@walla.co.il (Amir)
wrote:
helloi have a question, i hope anyone can help me.I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very goodreputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...)a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, andhis menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of thedishes!),they copyed everything from me!the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking hisrestaurant is mine!
. . . .

Under US law, you might have a case (although I'm uncertain without
further information.). You appear to be posting from an Israeli
address, so I couldn't accurately guess as to local law. I would
recommend contacting a lawyer with intellectual property experience in
your area.

Daniel Reitman

On Mon, 26 Jul 2004 20:21:24 -0400, amirtenen@walla.co.il (Amir)
wrote:
helloi have a question, i hope anyone can help me.I own a very sucssesful indian restaurant and i earned a very goodreputation,(even celebrities are coming to eat from time to time...)a few months ago someone opened a new indian restaurant near me, andhis menu is almost similar to mine!!(even the name of thedishes!),they copyed everything from me!the problem is that many many clients are mislead, thinking hisrestaurant is mine!what can i do!? can i sue? is there any law protecting me??thank you very much!!amir


Hello Amir,

Gosh, I know it's been a long time since you posted. But I just got
here! I hope you found the answer to your question. If you haven't,
please read on.

Several years ago I took a contract paralegal job with an IP firm here
in Houston. I was assigned to help prepare the case for trial. The
case had very similar facts such as yours. One fast food restaurant
chain had the identical menu as the other one. It's been so long, I
don't recall the other facets that were identical, but they were far
from being mere similarities.

The case went to trial. The judge, jury and the parties involved all
went down to the restaurants. The jury later found for the plaintiff.
But instead of paying millions, the defendant restaurants allowed
themselves to be taken over by the plaintiff chain.

Wishing you good luck.


Sincerely,


Rick Burt
Private Investigator and
Certified Paralegal
TX. Lic. #A11952
12436 FM 1960 West #172
Houston, Texas 77065
832-978-8057
360-364-9035 (fax)
rick-spam-resume@earth-spam-link.net
www.amortis.com

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