by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - September 20, 2010 - What is a Trademark or Service Mark?
Lars Johnson’s Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant boasts enticing Swedish-meatball sandwiches and pickled herring, but what really attracts customers to Lars’s Restaurant are the goats that will be grazing above patrons on the grass covered roof.
An ABAJournal article states that this goat-roofed restaurant located in Sister Bay, Wisconsin, has been using rooftop goats to attract business 1973 when a goat was given to Lars as a gag gift.
Lars trademarked the rooftop goats marketing ploy in 1996 and since then has doggedly (or should we say goatishly) pursued action against instances of alleged infringement of intellectual property (IP). Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reported that;
“Since the restaurant obtained its trademark, it has been “on constant lookout for other cloven-hooved intellectual-property violations,” the intellectual property story says. A Wisconsin gift shop with a fake goat on its roof received a cease-and-desist letter, while a Georgia grocery store and gift shop found itself a defendant in a federal lawsuit.”
Since getting the trademark, Lars hasn’t hesitated to protect his rooftop goats trademark against infringers. A Wisconsin gift shop that for a short time displayed a fake goat on its roof was sent an effective cease-and-desist letter. While a gift shop and a grocer in Georgia was named defendant in a federal trademark infringement lawsuit.
Update: the Georgia gift shop and grocer d/b/a the Tiger Mountain Market now pays a licensing fee to Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant to use rooftop goats.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
