By Todd Wallack
November
23, 2012
Dunkin’
Donuts won’t be able to claim exclusive rights to the phrase “Best Coffee in
America.”
The
Patent and Trademark Office has tentatively rejected the Canton-based
chain’s efforts to trademark the slogan, saying it is not distinctive enough to
qualify for protection. The slogan “is merely laudatory and descriptive,” the
agency ruled recently.
“Anyone
at all can claim that their coffee is the ‘Best Coffee in America,’ ” said a
Newton trademark attorney, Zick Rubin. “No one takes such a claim literally,
and no one company can monopolize the phrase.”
Both
Rubin and the trademark office noted the ruling has an obvious precedent. The
maker of Sam Adams beer, Boston Beer Co., tried to trademark a similar slogan,
“The Best Beer in America.” But the trademark office turned down the request,
and an appellate court upheld the decision in 1999. The Boston
brewer has continued to use the phrase anyway, but without trademark
protection.
Many
other companies claim to have the nation’s best joe. Dunkin’ noted on its website that its coffee won
top marks in a 2007 AOL.com online poll. But Starbucks has topped Dunkin’ for
at least three years in a row as the top fast-food coffee in Zagat’s survey.
Starbucks
declined to comment.
Dunkin’
sells more than 1.5 billion cups of coffee a year around the world. It declined
to say whether it planned to appeal the ruling. “We are reviewing the filing
and cannot speculate on future plans at this time,” said a spokeswoman, Jessica
Gioglio.
The
ruling was not the first trademark defeat for Dunkin’. Earlier this year, the trademark
office rejected Dunkin’s effort to trademark the phrase “Bagel Bunchkin” —
referring to bite-size bagel pieces — saying it was too close to a
supermarket’s brand of traditional bagels, “The Bagel Bunch.”