Midtown Lunch

Lunch Links (The “Crab Fry Law Suit” Edition)

Photo courtesy of Ryan Strand

• Khyber Pass Pub, the recent #1 bar on the Foobooz list, has perfectly fried shrimp in their po boy [Philly Phoodie]
• Lawyer friends, how do we feel about Chickie and Pete’s trademark infringment suit over it’s crab fries [The Insider]
• The Hot Ham Capicola, Oven-Roasted Turkey, thinly sliced Pepperoni, Hot Pepper Cheese, Mozzarella, Lettuce, Tomato, light Oil, Salt, Pepper, and Oregano hoagie from Michael Minetti won the 1st Philly Hoagie contest, the hoagie will be available at Primo’s later this month [The Insider]
• India Restaurant gets more praise for its naan and everything else [Philadelphia Weekly]

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3 Comments

• 

  jimdandy:

  So how do the lawyer friends feel? I pesonally think it’s ridiculous: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickie%27s_%26_Pete%27s

  Dec 5th, 2011 at 11:37 am  
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  Jamie:

  I am surprised they got a trademark application approved to begin with, but since they do have one, they probably have a good case now. Even though the name is descriptive, Chickie and Pete’s lawyers relied on the fact that this product is so well known that the name has obtained a secondary meaning. For an infringement claim you have to prove that use of the term could likely deceive the public or dilute the value of the original trademark. They are probably claiming that using the name “crab fries” to describe seasoned fries similar to their product will be likely to confuse customers. I think it would be a stronger case for the other side if their product actually used real crab.

  Dec 5th, 2011 at 12:24 pm  
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  jimdandy:

  Thanks for replying Jamie. Oddly, trademarks are not vetted in the way that patents are. The trademark attorney only has to establish that there is no chance of reasonable confusion with an existing mark, which Pete actually had to prove in his original 1998 application because “The Crab Chip” was an exisitng trademark. The validity of a claim is only determined by the courts, at great expense to both sides of course.
  And I hate to break this to you, but most people outside of Philadelphia (and I guess NJ now) have not even heard of Chickie’s and Pete’s. When someone says crab fries, I think of Old Bay and Maryland, not Pennsylvania.
  The most interesting case is the one against a restaurant called Crabby Fries. They sell “seasoned fries” as well as crabs, and they are 400 miles away in North Carolina. Check out http://www.crab-fries.com. Pete probably shuld have registered that domain ;)

  Dec 8th, 2011 at 10:18 am