Seattle Space Needle sues local coffee shop for copying its logo

Seattle coffee shop Local Coffee Spot is being sued for allegedly copying the logo of the city’s Space Needle.

The lawsuit states the coffee shop’s purple and white branding is too close to Space Needle's own trademarked design.

Space Needle’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer Karen Olson said: “Like the Empire State Building and Eiffel Tower, the Space Needle is a licensed trademark," and "when our trademark team sees the Space Needle being used without permission, we are obligated to contact the organization to request that they stop using the trademark."

She further said that the company is not “trying to negatively impact someone's business,” and “are not seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit."

She added that the company tried to offer help to the coffee shop for designing a new logo "for over a year," and is still willing to help despite the legal filing.

Beau McKeon, co-owner of Local Coffee Spot, refutes the claim. He says that he accepted the offer of design assistance, but Space Needle was the one who ignored his follow-up emails.

He feels that his company has been “victimized” for being a small company and not a well-known brand that generates millions of dollars in revenue.

A similar story was covered by PitchMark in the recent past. II.Ia.Io, a Malaysian small business that specializes in frozen yogurt, had opened its first outlet to compete with llaollao, a Spanish frozen yogurt desert chain that operates in the nation. It was blamed for copying not just the brand name, but it also had a very similar product offering, including the same toppings as well as the shape of cups and spoons. The outlet had to shut down due to allegations. 

PitchMark helps innovators deter idea theft, so that third-parties that they share their idea with get the idea but don’t take it. Visit PitchMark.net and register for free as a PitchMark member today.