ST. LOUIS (AP) — A small Missouri brewery has responded
to a cease and desist letter from Starbucks by sending the coffee chain a
check to cover what it calls the profit from use of the word
"Frappicino" — a check for $6.
Exit 6 Pub and Brewery in the St.
Louis suburb of Cottleville named one of its brews the Frappicino, with
one c instead of the two that Starbucks uses for its blended beverages.
That prompted an attorney for Starbucks Coffee Co. to send Exit 6 a
letter on Dec. 9.
The letter from attorney Anessa Owen Kramer
noted that the Seattle-based company "is the owner of a number of
world-famous trademarks, including the well-known FRAPPUCCINO
trademark." It said that the words are "phonetically identical" and that
Exit 6’s use of Frappicino "is likely to cause confusion, mistake."
In
his sarcastic response letter, Exit 6 owner Jeff Britton also wrote
that the brewery "never thought that our beer drinking customers would
have thought that the alcoholic beverage coming out of the tap would
have actually been coffee from one of the many, many, many stores
located a few blocks away."
Exit 6 posted the letter on its
Facebook site and responded with a letter to "Mr. Bucks." The letter
said Exit 6 would no longer use the term "Frappicino" and would instead
refer to its beer as the "F Word."
Britton said in a telephone
interview Tuesday that he brewed up a new batch of "The F Word" last
Friday. By then, the dispute was already drawing attention on social
media, and the beer sold out in three hours. He’s contemplating making
more, based on the calls, emails and Facebook messages of support he
said he’s received from around the world.
"It’s been
unbelievable," Britton said. "People are just saying, ‘Hey, read the
story, good job.’ I’m getting emails and Facebook messages from Germany,
China, England. People are just clamoring for it."
Starbucks spokeswoman Laurel Harper said the company was glad the brewery agreed to stop using the name.

"This
was a respectful request asking Exit 6 to refrain from using the term
‘Frappicino,’ which differs by only one letter from our ‘Frappucino’
product," she said by telephone.
"We always prefer to resolve
trademark disputes informally and amicably, and we appreciate them
respecting our request to avoid confusion among customers."
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