University sues pizza maker for borrowing from its name
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, has sued a local pizza restaurant for calling its cooking classes the Rensselaer Pizza Institute.
The suit claims the restaurant, Pizza DaVinci, is using university trademarks in a way that is likely to confuse people who may conclude the pizza maker is associated with the university, the Albany Times Union reports at its blog the Buzz.
The suit says Pizza DaVinci owner Gokhan Baykal asked school officials in November 2013 about changing the name of the restaurant to the Rensselaer Pizza Institute, and the university said it would oppose such a name. Though it appears the restaurant never changed its name, its website touts the Rensselaer Pizza Institute pizza-making program, the story says.
Baykal told the blog on Friday he had not seen the lawsuit.
