![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/loweringthebar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/alligator-beaver.jpg?fit=300%2C169\")
<\/p>\nFrom Lowering the Bar. Now, I am fully aware that Texas itself, in its large entirety, probably isn’t fully responsible for this absurd error in a jury’s decision, but I’m saying, yeah, it is.<\/p>\n
Can you spot the difference between these two logos? You can? Great, because Texas needs you.<\/p>\n
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Would you confuse the two? Because a Texas jury held last week<\/a> that you probably would.<\/em><\/p>\n Last Tuesday, the jury held that the alligator logo (on the right) was too similar to the beaver logo (on the left), and so the company that runs Choke Canyon travel stops will have to pay Buc-ee\u2019s Ltd. for trademark infringement. That seems odd, given that the two logos look nothing alike. True, each one features a cartoon animal that is oriented in generally the same way, but they are different animals that are different colors, and have other differences that you can see for yourself. Or maybe you can\u2019t?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely not about a beaver versus an alligator,\u201d insisted Buc-ee\u2019s general counsel, although it kind of seemed like it was. \u201cThere are more than 10 similarities between the two marks that we presented to the jury in this case,\u201d he continued, which was also puzzling because the \u201cnumber of similarities\u201d isn\u2019t the question. It\u2019s whether there is a real likelihood that consumers would confuse the two marks, and that seems pretty unlikely here because, you know, they don\u2019t look similar at all.<\/em><\/p>\n Choke Canyon was certainly perplexed by the verdict, especially since it presented survey evidence showing that more than 99 percent of consumers asked about the two logos said they would not get them confused. The defense expert surveyed 300 people, which isn\u2019t a huge sample, but it looks like Buc-ee\u2019s didn\u2019t present any survey evidence at all. Not that it\u2019s required, but here it does seem to confirm the optical evidence that the logos don\u2019t really look similar.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m surprised that Buc-ee\u2019s won,\u201d said Chris Schwegmann, a trademark attorney that the Houston Chronicle asked for comment.\u00a0\u201cI haven\u2019t seen any of the trial evidence,\u201d Schwegemann said, \u201cbut I just can\u2019t see how any reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion between those two logos. One is a beaver, the other is an alligator. One has a ball cap, the other has a cowboy hat. The design of the logos is different and the alligator logo even has the name of the store directly on the sign, further diminishing any confusion between the two stores.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Both the logos have the color yellow in them, though, and also white and red. And the animals are facing in the same general direction, I guess, although the \u2018gator is looking at the viewer, and the beaver is looking at who knows what. More importantly, I think Buc-ee\u2019s is probably looking at an appeal.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From Lowering the Bar. Now, I am fully aware that Texas itself, in its large entirety, probably isn’t fully responsible for this absurd error in a jury’s decision, but I’m saying, yeah, it is. Can you spot the difference between … Continue reading