NEW YORK — Starbucks’ lawsuit to stop a family-owned coffee roaster in New Hampshire from selling a blend called “Charbucks” was revived after a federal appeals court vacated part of a ruling favoring the smaller company.
Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, should get another chance to prove the Black Bear Micro Roastery in Tuftonboro, N.H., is diluting its trademark, even though the brand names aren’t “substantially” similar, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York said Thursday.
Starbucks, based in Seattle, sued in 2001 in federal court in Manhattan accusing Black Bear’s owner, Wolfe’s Borough Coffee Inc., of confusing consumers and diluting the value of the Starbucks brand by selling Charbucks in New England and online. Bloomberg News
