Judge sides with Fall River coffee shop in Lizzie Borden trademark lawsuit. Here's why.
FALL RIVER — A judge ruled against the owners of the Lizzie Borden House after they sought a restraining order against a Lizzie-themed coffee shop that recently opened next door.
The Lizzie Borden House on Fall River’s Second Street is where Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet in 1892. Now, it's a bed and breakfast and museum dedicated to Lizzie and the still-unsolved murders. This summer, Miss Lizzie’s Coffee, a Lizzie Borden-themed coffee shop that markets itself as "the most haunted coffee shop in America," opened next door.
U.S. Ghost Adventures, which owns the Lizzie Borden House, filed a lawsuit in September against Miss Lizzie’s Coffee and owner Joe Pereira, claiming the latter is intentionally making customers think the coffee shop is connected to the Lizzie Borden House and violating trademarks and other laws.
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On Oct. 10, U.S. Ghost Adventures filed a request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Miss Lizzie’s Coffee and Pereira, which would have blocked them from using what the ghost tour company claims are its trademarks while the case unfolds.
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In a ruling released on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin sided with the coffee shop, denying the request for the restraining order and injunction. He asserted that the lawsuit has a limited chance for success.
In his ruling, Sorokin said it was important to determine if the coffee shop is truly likely to create confusion among potential customers.
The hatchet logo used by Miss Lizzie's Coffee is significantly different from the hatchet trademarked by U.S. Ghost Adventures, he wrote. And the coffee shop's use of the name "Lizzie" to refer to Borden likely does not violate the ghost tour company's trademark on using the full name "Lizzie Borden" for hotel and restaurant services.
"Here, Miss Lizzie’s mark associates its business with the historical story of Lizzie Borden, not the mark 'Lizzie Borden.' ... While Ghost Adventures has an 'incontestable' trademark in 'Lizzie Borden' and its hatchet, Miss Lizzie’s is using neither the mark 'Lizzie Borden' nor the Ghost Adventures hatchet," he wrote.
Miss Lizzie's Coffee offers a largely different service than the Lizzie Borden House and displays a sign saying it is not affiliated with the older business, he pointed out.
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He asserted that potential confusion among customers stemming from the businesses' proximity and similar subject matter is not the same as a trademark violation.
"Indeed, the same issues would arise if Miss Lizzie’s called its cafe 'Forty Whacks Coffee' and used a different image as its logo," he wrote.
The next court date in the case will be a scheduling conference on Nov. 1.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Judge denies restraining order in Lizzie Borden trademark lawsuit
