MONTPELIER, Vt. – A Vermont folk artist who built a T-shirt business around the term “eat more kale” said Monday the U.S. Trademark and Patent office has given him a “preliminary no” in his legal fight to protect the term that sparked a legal battle with the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain.
But Bo Muller-Moore of Montpelier said he has six months to respond to the ruling.
Muller-Moore said he had expected to learn more Monday about his ongoing fight to trademark the phrase “eat more kale.”
The fast-food giant Chick-fil-A objected to his efforts in the fall of 2011 because the company said it could be confused with their trademarked phrase “eat mor chikin.”
The legal battle for the term prompted Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin to say in December 2011 the state would do all it could to help Muller-Moore in his battle with Chick-fil-A.
Muller-Moore’s attorney Daniel Richardson of Montpelier said an official with the Trademark and Patent office thought the two phrases could be confused.
Chick-fil-A did not respond Monday to an emailed request for comment.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.