Hardware chain Mitre 10 has rejected a claim from burger chain Grill’d it is taking part in trademark infringement by selling a line of barbeques under the same name.
But Grill’d founder and chief executive Simon Crowe has said he will pursue legal action despites months of talks between himself and Mitre 10 chief executive Mark Burrowes.
A Mitre 10 spokesperson said in a statement the company rejects any claim it has acted illegally, and said it had applied through the correct channels in order to register the barbeque brand.
“Our range of Grill’d barbeques, only available at our Mitre 10 stores, is highly popular not just with the independent store-owners who make up Mitre 10, but with our customers, who want a good quality product that represents good value.”
“Mitre 10 has been communicating with Grill’d Pty Ltd on this issue and to allay any possible confusion, we have offered to modify the use of “Grill’d” to “Mitre 10 Grill’d” in our point of sale, packaging and advertising material, starting next season.”
The comments come after Simon Crowe said he would be pursuing legal action against the company after talks failed to achieve a mutual agreement.
“The spelling of Grill’d is unique. We’ve built the company over the past five and a half years, so it’s not like we’re invisible, especially in Melbourne where Mitre 10 is based. I find it extraordinary Mitre 10 chose to use the same brand name out of all names they could have come up with,” he said in a statement.
Mitre 10 will sell eight different types of barbeques as part of internal brand promotion. However, Crowe said using the “Grill’d” brand will make customers think the company has actively endorsed the product.
As a result, Crowe said Grill’d will be disputing the trademark with proceedings expected to begin next month.
“We’re taking a public stand because we don’t believe it’s right to stand here and do nothing. And we don’t want our customers to be misled,” he said.
The move comes as Metcash purchased a 50.1% stake in Mitre 10 last week for $55 million, with the option to secure the remaining 49.9% in 2012-13.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
