Nestlé Attempts To Strongarm Small Seattle Coffee Company For Use Of Word “Seattle” – CoffeeTalk

Nestlé is attempting to force Seattle Strong, a small coffee company, to change its name, claiming it infringes on the Seattle’s Best brand acquired in 2022. The dispute raises the question of whether only one coffee company can claim trademark rights in the word “Seattle” or can the Emerald City’s cool, caffeinated cachet be shared. Nestlé filed a petition asking the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark it issued two years ago to Seattle Strong, a cold brew company formed in Seattle in 2017. The trademark office’s appeal board set a timeline for the case this week, with a trial expected next year. Nestlé argues that Seattle Strong’s name is so similar to Seattle’s Best that coffee buyers may confuse the two brands and dilute the distinctiveness of Nestlé’s Seattle’s Best mark. Seattle Strong, which started as a college project at the University of Washington, argues that confusion is unlikely, given that Seattle Strong exclusively focuses on cold brew. Seattle Strong founder Evan Oeflein said that Nestlé seems to think they own the name Seattle and that the company’s headquarters and operations remain in Seattle.

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