Super (Hot) Dog (Trademark) Fight Breaks Out in Court
Screen shot of the Superdawg website.
Who’s the original Superdawg?
That would be the one in Chicago that’s been serving up frankfurters since 1948 on the city’s northwest side. And this Superdawg—a food TV favorite easily recognized because of its distinct larger-than-life statues representing the restaurant’s owners—doesn’t take kindly to perceived copycats.
So after asking in vain for New York City upstart Superdog to change its name, Superdawg owners are suing. They’re claiming trademark infringement and unfair and deceptive business practices, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Superdawg’s general counsel and co-owner, Scott Berman, says they’ve had to ask dozens of new hot dog restaurants to stop using variations of the Superdawg name. All have complied, until now.
SuperDog in New York has changed it’s name slightly, opening under the Super Hot Dog moniker, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. But that’s not different enough for Berman, who in the suit is also asking SuperDog to abandon its web domain, superdognyc.com.
The Super Hot Dog site is currently available at superhotdognyc.com, where a website coming soon message (JPG) and menu appear.
