Blaze Pizza LLC last week filed a lawsuit charging Blaze BBQ Inc. and related restaurants with trademark infringement.
In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland, Blaze Pizza alleges that the six-unit Mediterranean barbecue chain uses a name, logo and color scheme that are very similar to that of the pizza chain and could be confusing to customers.
Blaze Pizza also accused Blaze BBQ of copying elements of its rewards program and interior design using orange, black, white and grey, and a distinctive flame graphic, which was trademarked in 2012 when the first pizza unit opened in Southern California.
In 2021, Blaze Pizza learned that Blaze BBQ had filed an application for trademarks with a similar color scheme, and a letter was sent to demand that the barbecue concept abandon the application.
According to the lawsuit, Blaze BBQ initially agreed not to use the logo or any other “Blaze-formative” designation, and later said the chain would only use “Blaze” along with “BBQ,” though the lawsuit cites examples when that wasn’t the case. Blaze BBQ also sometimes offered pizza on its menu.
Blaze Pizza, which is based in Pasadena, Calif., seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the barbecue chain from using the Blaze name and similar marks, and will seek monetary damages, to be determined at trial.
Blaze BBQ, which sometimes uses the name Blaze Mediterranean Fusion, is based in Tracy, Calif., according to the lawsuit. On the menu at a location in Salida, Calif., for example, were chicken wraps, salads, kebabs, gyros, burgers and wings.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
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