In-N-Out Threatens Burger Express with Lawsuit

By Elina Shatkin Tue., Jul. 26 2011 at 11:18 AM

A side-by-side comparison of In-N-Our's logo with the logo of Burger Express.

In-N-Out Burger is seeing red when it comes to Idaho's Burger Express. The Boise-based restaurant, which has been open about a month, sports a red sign with a splashy yellow arrow running through it diagonally. Look familiar? In-N-Out, with its big red signs framed by yellow arrows, thinks so. Now, the California burger chain is threatening to sue Burger Express, reports the Idaho Statesman.

Squillace remains unrepentant, claiming the red and yellow colors are standard for fast-food establishments and that his logo looks nothing like In-N-Out's logo. Whether he has the resources to defend against such a potential lawsuit is another matter. In-N-Out has deep pockets and a history of aggressively defending its trademark.

In a letter sent to owner Larry Squillace on July 9th, In-N-Out lawyers write:

There can be no debate that your restaurant is modeled after In-N-Out's restaurants. Our information suggests that you have even copied In-N-Out's food presentation -- the burger partially wrapped with the side visible -- to the customer.

He has until August 5th to make changes or face the California burger chain's wrath.

Tags:

Boise, Burger, Burger Express, Copyright, Elina Shatkin, Idaho, In-N-Out, Larry Squillace, Lawsuit, Legal, Trademark

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lankaelena

Regardless of what most people are saying, they DID rip off the In-N-Out logo design. Saying the colors can be trademarked is not what makes the signs so similar. I mean really people.. are you all really that stupid??

theydidittometo

In n out uses intimatation as a tool. They cannot use a partially wrapped burger as trade dress. It has function and according to the lanham act they site, if it has fuction, it cannot be used as trade dress. In n out used the colors because burger king, mcdonalds, and jack use these colors. This is a clear case of corporate harrasment.

Andrew E. Clark

you can see the new logo design options on their Facebook page.

Andrew E. Clark

Vote for your favorite NEW Burger Express logo here: www.andreweclark.com/burgerexp...

Newipo

Get some hungry law firm to file a counter suit on contingency and they're all set....you can't trademark a burger or logo colors, McDonald's uses the same colors.

Andrew E. Clark

Check out my new logos for Burger Express and vote for your favorite:http://www.andreweclark.com/bu...

Anthony Morlett

well it's all about logo design... and most people know that yellow and red can make someone hungry.. compared to other colors for this to take effect in court you will have to get a expert on logo design

Randy Rodriguez

Tiny Idaho start-up vs. well-established California cult-corporation? Won't happen unless the Burger Express people are as dumb as the customers they're fooling. My point is that it's "all about" publicity for the start-up, not logo design. Even first-year law students know that In-N-Out would never give up, or they'd lose control over their intellectual property. Taking this to court would be a waste of money for Burger Express, just when they need the funds to grow the business.

Randy Rodriguez

It's easy to understand why some Burger Express PR genius came up with this idea -- which they'll drop after milking all possible publicity (I'm sure they already have a substitute logo that will remind Idahomabamians of the trick) -- but why does the media cooperate and give them the free publicity? Nothing else worth reporting? Brother-in-law owns the company? Incidentally, if INO put the same amount of effort into developing edible fries as they do defending their beautiful logo, they wouldn't need to worry about anything. Not even sodium and fat.