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Trader Joe's Is Suing Trader Joe For Trademark Infringement
The exterior of a Trader Joe's store photographed on April 19, 2022 in Calabasas.
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Jeremy Moeller
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Getty Images
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The supermarket that has won the hearts and wallets of Angelenos with its Two Buck Chuck and peanut butter cups is suing a cryptocurrency exchange for using its name.
Trader Joe's earlier this month filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange Trader Joe for trademark violation, among other claims.
What the suit alleges
The similarity doesn't just apply to the name, the suit says, but extends to the company's brand story.
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Consider this passage from the lawsuit:
"Defendants named the platform 'after the supermarket'— none other than Trader Joe’s—and developed a narrative around a fictionalized 'Trader Joe' who sells his crops in the local marketplace, further evoking Trader Joe’s business and brand. An image of 'Trader Joe' donning a red cap (the famed color of Trader Joe’s logo, store motifs, and memorabilia) serves as the platform’s avatar."
The lawsuit filed by Trader Joe's against Trader Joe included this tweet to support its claim that the cryptocurrency exchange modeled their brand story after the supermarket.
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About 'Trader Joe'
The exchange lets users buy and sell cryptocurrency without the involvement of a bank or other third parties.
According to the suit, its co-founder Cheng Chieh Liu is based in Singapore.
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Liu offered an explanation in his 2022 response to a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) complaint filed by the supermarket — an explanation the suit filed in California dismisses.
"He asserted that the platform’s 'Trader Joe”' name was not an 'intentional misspelling of the TRADER JOE’S' mark. He further represented to WIPO that, instead, the platform was “named for Respondent’s brother, Joe Liu, who is an active member of the Trader Joe community," the lawsuit reads.
What Trader Joe's wants
Trader Joe's is seeking punitive and other damages, and for the exchange to cease using the name "Trader Joe" to conduct business and across all social media platforms.
The supermarket is also asking for the ownership of related web domains, including traderjoexyz.com currently being used by Trader Joe.
This isn’t the first time that Trader Joe’s has sued businesses over trademark issues.
In mid-July, a lawsuit was filed against the employees union, Trader Joe’s United, for selling merchandise that included a logo that resembled the one used by the supermarket. A motion to dismiss the case has been submitted by the union.
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In 2013, the supermarket sued Canadian store, Pirate Joe’s, alleging the store harmed Trader Joe’s brand by reselling the market's products without its permission.
The suit ultimately led to the closure of Pirate Joe’s.
Read the lawsuit
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