Chick-fil-A Is Worried You Can't Tell Kale From "Chikin"

Bo Muller-Moore shows off his Kale gear (AP).

Chik-fil-A, the popular chicken chain with the homophobic charity arm, is worried about kale. Specifically, they are worried that consumers might confuse their illiterate spokescow's slogan, "Eat Mor Chikin" with Vermont folk artist Bo Muller-Moore's silk-screened "Eat More Kale" t-shirts. Can't make this stuff up!

Muller-Moore took his story to the AP, which reports:

In a letter, a lawyer for Chick-fil-A said Muller-Moore's effort to expand the use of his "eat more kale" message "is likely to cause confusion of the public and dilutes the distinctiveness of Chick-fil-A's intellectual property and diminishes its value."

For his part Muller-Moore, who says his gear is "an expression of the benefits of local agriculture," is not planning on backing down. He already stood up to the company over the slogan five years ago and doesn't see any reason to stop now (that legal matter never went to court and was resolved, which he assumed meant he won). The 38-year-old says "This feels like David versus Goliath. I know what it's like to protect what's yours in business." So he's gotten himself a lawyer, and his lawyer sounds confident.

"Bo's is a very different statement. It's more of a philosophical statement about local agriculture and community-supported farmers markets," lawyer Daniel Richardson said. "At the end of the day, I don't think anyone will step forward and say they bought an 'eat more kale' shirt thinking it was a Chick-fil-A product."

If you want to support Muller-Moore, whose day job is fostering adults with special needs, you can buy a shirt at his website or just sign this petition.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Garth Johnston in Food on November 28, 2011 4:56 PM

Comments [rss]

Mike_Nesmith

I wish the "Got Milk" people did this. There are way too many shitty "Got (insert whatever here) " knockoffs...

Moishe Pipik

Actually, if the "Eat More x" followed the "Got x" pattern, we'd see "Eat more Jesus" bumper stickers!

BottomlessChips

Looks like Muller-Moore could use "mor" leafy greens and less fried chicken...

Tim Osman

Typical corporate douchebaggery

JacksBack72

. . .I really like that word: 'douchebaggery'!
May I have your permission to use it in my future Gothamist comments?!

Tim Osman

I do not own douchebaggery (nor would I want to), you have my permission (for whatever little that is worth) to use it on Gothamist, around the internet and however you see fit. Enjoy!

JacksBack72

Myself, a former Brooklynite - and a graduate of Brooklyn College. . . I am most appreciative, and I do say 'Thank You', AABrooklyn. . . It is very gracious of you to respond so positively!
I wouldn't have wanted to use your word without authorization- thereby running the risk of then being accused by the other 'Goths' of: 'plagiarism'! <-(Oh No!!)

Peanut_Butter

I don't frequent any places whose names I can't pronounce properly in my head.

T. Funke

We need more than one Chick- fil- a in NYC. That's some damn good chicken.

smorrebrod

And the one we have now ain't open for breakfast, which I'm craving for right now at midnight.

Rocknrope

I heard his follow up shirt is going to be called "Just Do Shit."

Holler_Atcha_Soy

I would have made a follow-up shirt with "Eat More Dick"

nicemarmot

So basically they're claiming they own the phrase "eat more xxxx"? So the next time a government eat-more-veggies campaign comes along, they're going to sue the government too?

tippmann

Yes, only they didn't even use "eat more", they used "eat mor"

virgilstarkwell

"At the end of the day, I don't think anyone will step forward and say they bought an 'eat more kale' shirt thinking it was a Chick-fil-A product."
Daniel, Daniel, Daniel.... you need to see if your law school has a refund policy. OF COURSE no one is going to think that. The issue is your client is 'profiting' off of someone else's brand and intellectual property... and you're not allowed to do that.

dd7

It's not that simple. Chik-fil-A would also need to prove that "eat more kale" t-shirts were a potential product it may have produced in the future; and that the t-shirts were aimed at its target customers. It's unlikely Chik-fil-A could prove either.

anon

"In Campbell v Acuff-Rose Music Inc[17] Supreme Court recognized parody as a fair use, even when done for profit." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...

Susan

Campbell v Acuff-Rose is a copyright fair use case. Chik-fil-A is accusing him of trademark infringement and dilution, not copyright infringement. Different fair use analysis applies. But there is no need to reach fair use. A) "Eat mor chikin" is not sufficiently distinctive to be entitled to dilution protection, and B) There is no likelihood of confusion thus he is not "profiting" off their brand, because no one seeing the shirts was likely to even think of their brand until this story came out. There are no Chik-fil-A restaurants in New England, so no one there sees their ads. If I were him, I'd thank them for the publicity.

RobertMosesSupposesErroneously

Additionally, without the misspelling of "mor" (arguably a key feature of the Chik-fil-A campaign), his shirts are pretty dissimilar.

I find it hard to believe a judge will rule that a single restaurant owns exclusive rights to the phrase "eat more..."