Tiny Fish & Chip Shop vs. Giant Warner Bros: The Perils of Scooby Snax

Posted by bOnline under Legal
From http://blog.bonline.com 201 days ago
Made Hot by: Squawk Media on October 30, 2012 5:56 pm

A fish and chip shop in Essex has been targeted by Warner Bros, who threatened legal action over the shop's name: Scooby Snax. Did the underdog come out on top or were they forced to retreat with their tail between their legs?

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Written by lyceum
199 days ago

Kasey: Please keep us posted! I look forward to test the Scooby Snack sandwich! :)

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Written by lyceum
200 days ago

Kasey: So Frank Sinatra estate had a deal with Warner Bros? I think that the couple are allowed to name their dog Scooby, but they should thought twice about naming their business with this name. On the other hand, I think that WB and the fish & chip shop should have been able to come up with some kind of resolution. A good case is Ask Jeeves (ask.com) and the estate of P.G. Wodehouse (Jeeves and Wooster novels).

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Written by bOnline
200 days ago

I don't think there was any deal between Warner Bros and Frank Sinatra's estate, as far as I know the name was just chosen from a part of a song - was just sharing that bit of info I found but it may not be correct. I was very surprised Warner Bros chose to pick this fight - after all, there's a famous song named after Scooby Snacks by Fun Lovin' Criminals, and a Scooby Snack is a well-known sandwich in Scotland. Plus I doubt very much this fish and chip shop is the only company that has borrowed the name! I just wonder if this is a case of making an example of the small guy, seeing as there's so many smaller businesses doing the same thing that go unnoticed (just do a quick Google search for Edward Scissorhands hairdressers!)

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Written by lyceum
200 days ago

Was the name Scooby a common dog name before the Scooby Doo cartoon character? I am for protecting the right of artists, authors and intellectual property owners. The site name is still here: http://www.scoobysfishandchips.co.uk/

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Written by bOnline
200 days ago

That's a good question! I was curious myself but just managed to find out that 'Scooby Doo' came from a scat in a Frank Sinatra song. I understand that you would want to protect the rights of artists, but where do we draw the line - should the couple have been allowed to name their dog Scooby?

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Written by HeatherStone
200 days ago

Hi Kasey,

This is one of those instances where I feel like the shop owner should have probably seen trouble coming. Media companies like Warner Bros. are very aggressive about asserting intellectual property rights. At the same time, I feel like this isn't exactly a smart move on WB's part. It's more likely that this fish and chip shop would end up providing free publicity for the cartoon franchise than that it would compete against or damage it in any way.

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Written by bOnline
200 days ago

Thanks for your comment, Heather. I agree, the shop owners probably should have considered copyright issues - I do wonder how they thought they would get away with trademarking the name! Of course, it's terrible that a small business has lost so much money when they were really no threat to the big guys, but I can only hope the press coverage brings in some more customers to make up for it.

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