A small California eatery is ridiculing a sports bar that issued a cease and desist order to a popular fast-food chain for copying two of its trademarked products.
Fair Play Sports Bar celebrated National Cheeseburger Day on September 18 by mocking a legal notice it received from In-N-Out Burger ordering it to cease and desist from using two well-known staples on the burger chain's menu: its trademarked Double Double and Animal Fries.
“Stop what you're doing and stop. Check this out,” the San Diego restaurant said. Facebook Post A marked up and edited version of the letter.
“We've been officially recognized by Big Burger!”
While a legal notice would send most people into a state of panic, restaurant owner Shane Gard said he was honored to be recognized by In-N-Out. Comb Reported.
Gerde said his menu is “heavily inspired” by the popular fast-food restaurant of the same name, but acknowledged there are some slight differences.
“Our goal was to let guests get an idea of what they're getting without having to explain too much, and that's a Southern California thing,” Gerde told the outlet.
“It's great food. It's just an enhanced version of what you're used to getting at drive-thru restaurants, but you get to enjoy it in a local restaurant atmosphere,” he said.
Recognizing that In-N-Out has a brand to protect, Fairplay quickly changed the menu names to “Secret Menu Fries” and “Burger Burger,” but not before jokingly addressing the situation on social media.
“Now's the perfect time to grab a Burger Burger and secret menu fries at In N Grub. Or a double! Sorry, we're not going to tell you what to order. We're not animals…it's just not our style,” the post's caption read.
Gerde spoke positively about his legal experience and said he had no animosity toward In-N-Out.
“Nobody has been as good as In-N-Out at giving us a cease and desist order,” Gerde told KUSI. “We were happy to be recognized and we were happy to get the name changed.”
The Post has reached out to Fair Play and In-N-Out for comment.
