What do luxury handbags have to do with fried chicken? Not much, other than a lawsuit: A South Korean fried chicken restaurant has been sued by Louis Vuitton for using its name and a play on its logo, according to the South China Morning Post.
The restaurant’s name, “Louis Vuiton Dak,” is a play on the Korean word tongdak, which means “whole chicken.” The owner also created a logo for his designer chicken restaurant that bore a striking resemblance to the French fashion house’s signature monogram; Louis Vuitton understandably took issue with the resemblance, sending the restaurant a cease-and-desist letter.
The owner then changed the name to “chaLouisvui tondak,” claiming the new name was different enough, but according to the Korea Times, a South Korean court disagreed: It fined the restaurant owner $12,500 for not complying with the previous cease-and-desist.
Similar copyright issues have arisen in the U.S., including in Portland, Oregon where a charcuterie brand Olympic Provisions received a cease-and-desist from the Olympic Games and was forced to rebrand. On the other side, employees sometimes seek protection from large brands, like one man in Puerto Rico who went so far as to attempt to copyright a chicken sandwich, but to no avail.
South #Korean #Chicken Restaurant Owner Fined for Copying #LouisVuittonhttps://t.co/bkGCa27PYL #korea #lol pic.twitter.com/VbHY5orgGu
— Koogle.TV (@KoogleTV) April 19, 2016