The last we heard from the “Eat More Kale” guy in his battle to bring veggie-themed T-shirts to the masses, he’d lost a round to the Goliath that is Chick-fil-A after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gave him a preliminary “no” in 2013. But it looks like David will still come out on top in this situation, as he was just granted the trademark for his phrase.
Chick-fil-A has been waging war against the kale guy since 2011, when the company threatened to sue the Vermont folk artist for using the slogan on his line of T-shirts.
The food fight seems to be over now, as the guy thanked supporters outside the Vermont Statehouse this week, saying the USPTO granted his application to trademark the phrase he says promotes local agriculture, reports the Associated Press.
When asked why he thinks the office decided to change course and approve his request after that first no, he said, “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“I’d like to think that maybe some persistence and polite defiance, you know, and proving to them that we were in it for the long haul,” he said. “If it took us a decade, we’re going to fight for a decade.”
Chick-fil-A had argued that the phrase was too close to its own — the company’s marketing materials often feature cow holding a sign that says, “eat mor chikin,” because that way, see, the cow won’t get eaten.
As such, a Chick-fil-A spokeswoman responded to the news by saying, “Cows love kale, too.”
Man celebrates his new ‘eat more kale’ trademark [The Associated Press]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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