KFC doesn’t think much of Church’s Texas Chicken’s new ad campaign.
The Louisville, Kentucky-based chicken chain has filed a lawsuit against its Atlanta-based rival over the latter chain’s use of the term “original recipe” to highlight its recent decision to shift back to its initial recipe for its fried chicken.
Church’s in ads is noting that, “Our original recipe is back.”
Yet KFC says this hits a bit too close to its own product, its Original Recipe fried chicken that it has sold for decades. KFC has owned the trademark for the term in association with fried chicken since 1984, according to the lawsuit, filed in a federal court last week.
Church’s use of the term is “likely to deceive, confuse and mislead purchasers and prospective purchasers into believing” that the chicken could come from KFC.
KFC sent a letter to Church’s last month seeking to get its rival to stop using the term, but Church’s did not answer the letter, according to the lawsuit.
“Our client is understandably concerned about uses of the Original Recipe mark that your franchise, Church’s Texas Chicken, is making in connection with its chicken products and restaurant services,” KFC attorneys said in their letter. That letter asked Church’s to stop using the term in its marketing materials by this month.
Trademark law requires that companies use and defend their trademarks, lest they lose them to other potential competitors.
Church’s abandoned its initial recipe chicken a decade ago in a cost-saving effort. The company brought it back in September. The company announced “the return of its original recipe” on Halloween, the day before KFC’s deadline.
“This return is not only a return to our roots, but also a strategic move to drive our business forward,” CEO Joe Guith said in a statement.
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