Georgia’s own Teddy’s Markets, a small convenience store chain with two locations in the Peach State, has won over a big-name defender in its ongoing trademark dispute with Texas highway titan Buc-ee’s.
The host of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” on HBO dedicated a segment on his July 26 episode to explaining the legal trademark controversy surrounding Buc-ee’s, which has lodged at least a half-dozen lawsuits against smaller companies over what it says is infringement.
Teddy’s, which was sued by the Texas company earlier this year, became a central part of Oliver’s illustration of the issue as he broke down the allegations in the trademark dispute and compared the two companies’ logos.
Buc-ee’s sued Teddy’s in May, saying in its court filings that the local competitor is operating under a “confusingly similar” brand. The Texas convenience giant says in its lawsuit that motorists and others viewing branding from the road or in passing could be lured to Teddy’s Market thinking it is Buc-ee’s.
Buc-ee’s and its attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
Buc-ee’s had said in other lawsuits that many cartoon animal characters looking to the right are too similar to the convenience giant’s signature beaver, but in the Teddy’s logo, Oliver noted, the bear is facing front.
“If front-facing images are OK, why the f--- did Buc-ee’s go after the Teddy’s koala? That bear is looking you right in the eyes. He is peering into your very soul,” Oliver said during the segment.
Oliver concluded the segment with a prank in line with what his viewers have come to expect: He reintroduced a rodent mascot known as Mr. Nutterbutter, created as part of a stunt on an earlier season of the show, together with a logo that follows some of the trademark guidelines Buc-ee’s has weaponized in court.
The show is selling products emblazoned with the logo, which says “Buc-off,” through the end of this week, promising proceeds from the sale will go to charity.
Comedian advocacy aside, Teddy’s is still battling Buc-ee’s in court, arguing in a filing late last week that Buc-ee’s is essentially trying to push smaller competitors out of the market with claims that don’t have legal basis.
For one thing, Teddy’s argued, Buc-ee’s has taken issue with a multitude of cartoon animal logos regardless of their dissimilarity to the iconic beaver.
Teddy’s Market pointed out that many artists and companies have used anthropomorphic characters, from Aesop’s fables to Chester Cheetah. Gas station mascots have been used before Buc-ee’s was founded, and Buc-ee’s own cartoon animal is similar to Bucky Beaver, a mascot for Ipana, a toothpaste company that was popular the 1950s, Teddy’s Market said.
“Simply put, Buc-ee’s is a trademark bully,” Teddy’s Market said in its filing. “It is attempting to use litigation and intimidation to expand unlawfully its asserted trademark rights far beyond the scope of what it has established in the marketplace or by way of its federal trademark registrations.”
In Oliver’s segment last week, the host pulled up footage of Buc-ee’s co-founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin III admitting to having been inspired by the Ipana character.
The owner and operator of Teddy’s Market, Karan Ahuja, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was not willing to be bullied by a larger company.
“From a moral perspective, it is not right,” Ahuja said.
Ahuja added that the tactics of Buc-ee’s made his typically nonlitigious business want to back down less.
“We are always very reasonable, and we are always very laid back,” Ahuja said. “But if you have a shark coming at you, you are going to punch it in the face.”
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