Remove the "B" from the name of the well-known BLT Burger restaurant and you have a new restaurant in Sag Harbor, New York called "LT Burger."  It turns out that names are not the only similarities between these two restaurants.  According to the complaint filed by BLT Restaurant Group LLC, LT Burger's menu is a near copy of BLT Burger's menu.  Below is a comparison of some the menu items:

 

BLT Burger Menu	LT Burger Menu
Burgers
Classic	Classic Hamburger
American Kobe (Snake River Farm American Wagyu Beef)	Snake River Farm American Kobe
The Stripper (hamburger topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, bell pepper and avocado, but no bun)	Skinny Dip Burger (topped with bell pepper, avocado, and lettuce, but no bun)
Milkshakes
Twinkie Boy	Twinkie
The Lunch Box (vanilla, peanut butter, grape jelly)	PB&J (vanilla, peanut butter, grape jelly)
Black & White Swirl	Black & White Swirl
Berry Me (strawberry ice cream and mixed fresh berries)	Berry Good (strawberry ice cream and mixed fresh berries)
Nut Job (hazelnut ice cream, Nutella, and slivered almonds)	Crazy Nut (hazelnut ice cream, Nutella, and almonds)

 

Additionally, the proprietor of LT Burger, Laurent Tourondel, is a former member of BLT Restaurant Group LLC and had signed BLT Restaurant Group LLC's operating agreement.

 

 While menus are often a very important aspect of a restaurant's identity, they can be one of the most difficult intellectual properties to protect.  While the similarity of the two restaurants appears obvious from the complaint, the legal claims are not so simple.  This case may very well be decided not by trademarks and copyrights, but by the terms of the BLT Restaurant Group's operating agreement.

We will follow this case and keep you updated on any developments.

 

For more information, contact Joshua Matthews.

Inventors throughout the world are using 3-D printing to quickly and inexpensively create prototypes and often to launch into low volume manufacturing.  Inventors have long been hampered by the slow moving and the often expensive process of making prototypes, altering them to come to a final design, having molds produced, and manufacturing products from that mold.   The advent of 3-D printers, which create objects by literally placing one layer of plastic or metal on another, can now quickly create prototypes and make variations if needed.  These 3-D printers were originally very expensive, and used only by large scale manufactures to build prototypes. 

 

Now, at a cost of approximately $10,000 or even less, these printers can be used by the individual inventor, first to make prototypes and then for low volume, custom made production.  Door knobs, perfume bottles, furniture and architectural models have been reported as being made by these 3-D printers.  Entire new businesses have formed around this model.

 

Shapeways, an innovative upstart, with origins in Holland, has recently jumped on this technology bandwagon, and plans to open 3-D printing shops in the United States, where architects, designers and even the general public, can come in and order prototypes or even finished products.  This company has already raised $5 million for this venture. 

 

As this technology becomes more widespread, it will be necessary to consider its relationship to issues such as infringement and counterfeiting, as well as any unanticipated issues it may raise. 

 

For more information, contact George Gottlieb.