Posting this for any fans of Kitchen Nightmares who want to see an example of how trademarking can go wrong. Apparently in Baltimore the endearing term ‘Hon’ (short for honey) is very popular. This led one local café owner to trademark the name of her café, “Café Hon”. She also threatened to sue other people using the term for infringement. Chef Gordon Ramsey quickly identifies her attempted enforcement of this apparently valid mark as a source of the bad reputation her café has developed around town, leading to a somewhat cathartic denouement.
Here is a link to the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HPQ3WCmWBA&ab_channel=KitchenNightmares
Enjoy!
Copyright & Social Media
Communications Law