“[Chipotle’s] “Sweetgreen’s conduct is likely to cause confusion or misunderstanding as to the origin of Sweetgreen’s ‘Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl,’ or as to any affiliation, connection, association, sponsorship, or endorsement between Sweetgreen and Chipotle,” the complaint states. claim.
Just days after Chipotle Mexican Grill filed a complaint against restaurant chain Sweetgreen for trademark infringement, dilution and deceptive business practices, Sweetgreen renamed the offending product. and explored the possibility of reconciliation.
Last week, Chipotle filed a complaint against Sweetgreen over the name of its new menu item, “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl.” Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and others v. Sweetgreen Inc., Case No. 8:23-cv-00596, United States District Court for the Central District of California. Chipotle owns numerous registered trademarks of variations of the word CHIPOTLE related to restaurants and food, including stylized versions in various fonts. Before filing the complaint, Chipotle sent her Sweetgreen a cease and desist letter asking Sarada to drop the word “chipotle” from its name, as is customary in trademark lawsuits.
Sweetgreen did not initially respond to the cease and desist letter, but renamed the issue to “Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl” two days after the lawsuit was filed. Sweetgreen told a news source it had decided to rename the bowls in order to focus on its business and provide customers with healthy food. In order to continue providing service, we have decided to rename the bowls to Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowls as part of a tentative agreement to settle the lawsuit,” a spokesperson for the salad chain said. . NPR.
Chipotle Complaints
While it sounds like the two chains are heading towards a settlement, the complaint provides an interesting (and amusing) insight into Chipotle’s trademark claims.
Referring to the picture of the sign below, paragraph 24 on page 8 of the Complaint states: Chipotle’s trademark red color, adobo red, and a background almost identical to Chipotle’s stylized mark.
Paragraph 23 of the complaint focuses directly on Chipotle’s stylized font of the CHIPOTLE mark. 
Sweetgreen’s website claims to use a font that is “nearly identical” to Chipotle’s stylized marks.
Visually, the most obvious difference in Sweetgreen’s outdoor ad is the use of a serif font. I do not use it. By itself, this is a direct difference in stylization of the mark.
Breaking it down further, the stylized uses capital letters, but Sweetgreen’s online ads do not. “H” crossbar and “E” middle bar It’s lower than what the US Patent and Trademark Office considers a “standardized typeface,” giving it a distinctive style. Discussing these differences may seem like splitting a hair, but these minutiae are important details when comparing trademarks.
Chipotle’s complaint also made an impact on Sweetgreen’s social media. Sweetgreen announced the new “Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl” on March 30, 2023 on her Instagram post. In paragraph 23 of the complaint, Chipotle alleges: Redeem her famous CIPOTLE® mark. A commenter wrote, “Chipotle who?!” But it was the commenter who made the connection, not Sweetgreen. Sweetgreen has gone so far as to make sure the public knows about them. did not do it Say, “You said, not us,” emoji. By itself it does not indicate intent.
Chipotle Undervalues Hungry Consumers
The complaint also alleges that “Sweetgreen’s conduct may not be based on the origin of Sweetgreen’s ‘Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl,’ the affiliation, connection, association, sponsorship, or endorsement between Sweetgreen and Chipotle, or of Sweetgreen’s ‘Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl’ in paragraph 44. Origin.
It’s somewhat incredible that a customer waits in line for hours to get a bowl at Sweetgreen and realizes for the first time at the POS that they thought they were chipotle pepper. What’s more, the interiors of Chipotle’s restaurants have a unique look and feel that you won’t find anywhere else.The interior of the Chipotle so It is uniquely protected by Trade Dress’s own trademark. As such, its interior further prevents confusion by ensuring that a stunned consumer, while standing at the Sweetgreen line, is in fact ordering from Chipotle.
Chipotle everywhere
A quick Google search for ‘Chipotle chicken food near me’ brings up a list of not only Chipotle Mexican Grill, but other similarly named menu items served by big name restaurants. Taco Bell has the “Chicken Chipotle Melt,” Chili’s has the “Chipotle Chicken Fresh Mex Bowl,” and Panera Bread has the “Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt.” So until Chipotle Mexican Grill comes to use the term after all other restaurants, hungry consumers will be spoiled for choice with a range of Chipotle-themed options that are arguably easily distinguishable from Chipotle Mexican Grill’s cuisine. available.
It’ll be interesting to see the final solution to this chipotle chicken game, but for now, it’s time for this hungry author to take advantage of one of these restaurant offerings.
