When an international mega-company like Starbucks sends a cease-and-desist letter for copyright infringement, most would not laugh in the face of a corporate lawsuit.
But after a small-town brewery in Missouri received a letter from Starbucks’ legal team regarding the brewpub’s “Frappicino” beer — a name Starbucks’ lawyer claims too closely resembles its own branded beverage — owner Jeff Britton decided to take the humorous approach in his response. He even sent Starbucks a check for the profit made off of the three beers sold at his suburban strip mall pub — a total of six dollars.
Exit 6 Brewery was given 14 days to remove any sources of confusion, or in other words, changing the name of its “Frappicino” stout served on draft at the pub. Britton decided to change the name to “The F Word” but also wrote a detailed response that errs on the side of comical rather than cautious, according to this story on NPR. Britton posted his response on Exit 6’s Facebook, where in one passage he quite smugly presents his position:
