Caterpillar, Inc., a company that manufactures construction equipment like bulldozers and tractors, sent a cease and desist to the Cat and Cloud coffee shop in Santa Cruz, California because the coffee shop sells shirts and caps with the word "cat" on it.
Here's what a Cat and Cloud cap looks like:
And here's what a Caterpillar cap looks like:
See the similarity?
From 25 News:
“It seemed ridiculous, so we responded, we got a lawyer obviously and asked them to further explain their case, asked them to drop it as we are in a completely different industry and they didn’t want to, and so we went back and forth a few times and called them out for bullying,” said [Cat and Cloud Coffee owner Jarred Truby].
Truby says when they opened the shop almost three years ago, they couldn’t have predicted something like this happening.
“Could anybody imagine a 54-billion-dollar machinery company coming after a coffee company? I don’t think that’s even in the cards,” said Truby. “The first biggest thing they want us to do is not print the name Cat and Cloud on anything again. And so, I think that is unbelievable. I don’t think that’s going to hold up.”
Caterpillar issued a statement about the cease and desist letter it sent:
We are not suing Cat & Cloud, not targeting a small business and not focused on Cat & Cloud’s primary interest: coffee. We’ve simply asked the U.S. Trademark Office to remove Cat & Cloud’s trademark registration on footwear and apparel only, products for which Caterpillar has long-standing trademarks and a considerable business.
Truby says he's spent over $10,000 in legal bills over the matter so far.
Imagine being Caterpillar's Tweeter right now:
