What’s in a Name? Protecting a Brand Trademark

4 Min Read By MRM Staff

Whatabrands, the company behind the Texas-based chain Whataburger,  recently filed a lawsuit against a North Carolina restaurant group, What-A-Burger #13, in North Carolina's Middle District federal court claiming What-A-Burger #13 infringed on a federal trademark, unfairly competed with Whataburger, breached a contract, committed unfair and deceptive trade practices, and unfairly competed under common law. 

To learn more about how this case might mean for other chains navigating intellectual property concerns as they plan to expand, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine received insights from Nate Quirk, a North Carolina-based intellectual property partner at Burr & Forman, who works closely with food and beverage brands. 

Can you briefly go over the facts of this case?Whatabrands LLC (“Whatabrands”) operates over 1,000 restaurants across 16 states under the well-known WHATABURGER trademark, which has been used to identify its restaurants since 1950 when the…