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Trademarking 101: Can Chipotle be the 'Chipotle of the better-burger' segment?
The term "better burger" may prove difficult to trademark, however, as it's been widely used among media and other restaurant operators to describe a variety of fast casual chains that specialize in higher-quality burgers.
April 1, 2016 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
It seems Chipotle has decided to add burgers to its portfolio of fast casual brands. The chain, which has two non-Chipotle growth seed restaurants — ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale — recently filed a trademark application for the term "Better Burger," according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Chipotle's Chris Arnold confirmed the move in an email to FastCasual.com.
"We have filed trademark applications for 'Better Burger.' (We) have said for some time that we think the Chipotle model could work with any number of kinds of food," the communications director wrote.
The term, however, may prove difficult to trademark as it's been widely used among media and other restaurant operators to describe a variety of fast casual chains that specialize in higher-quality burgers. Think MOOYAH, Smasburger, Elevation Burger.
"If it has been widely used by many others, then there is a very good chance the mark is not protectable," Patrick J. Arnold Jr., an attorney at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, wrote in an email to FastCasual.com
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out considering Chipotle made the "build-your-own" model famous, inspiring numerous fast casual concepts to design similar models. Many even unofficially call themselves "the Chipotle of pizza" or the "Chipotle of Middle Eastern food," for example. It begs the question: Can Chipotle be the Chipotle of the better burger segment?
About Cherryh Cansler
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