Johnny Cupcakes, pictured above wearing his "Make Cupcakes Not War" t-shirt, is suing a competitor for a t-shirt that says "Make Pastry Not War." According to The Patriot Ledger:
So this is the flip side of success: Entrepreneur Johnny Earle claims competitors are selling thinly disguised knockoffs of his Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts.
Earle, 26, of Hull, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan last month against three companies that allegedly have been selling imitations of his “Make Cupcakes Not War” design.
The rival T-shirt says “Make Pastry Not War” and also bears a cupcake icon. Earle claims its theme of pacifism and pastry violates a copyright he holds on the design.
The lawsuit names Adjmi Apparel, Run Athletics and Pastry, all of New York City, as defendants. The suit cites an advertisement in the Finish Line catalog for a “Make Pastry Not War” T-shirt selling for $30. Most Johnny Cupcakes T-shirts cost $35.
The suit alleges trademark infringement, stating that Johnny Cupcakes registered a trademark for the design in August 2007. It asks the court to authorize the destruction of the copycat shirts and seeks unspecified damages.
A search of the Finish Line website doesn't show the t-shirt, and Amazon doesn't have it in stock either.
What do you think?
In other Johnny Cupcakes news, he was named one of 2008's Best Entrepreneurs 25 and under by BusinessWeek. That's pretty huge - congratulations!
And he is now selling things like stickers:
Comments
he's just another trend that is going to die off sooner than later...
he needs to get over himself and his overpriced merchandise. he has nerve suing these companies when all his ideas are just things that people have already come up with but he throws a cupcake into the mix and suddenly its SO COOL and revolutionary.
cupcake, PLEASE!
Just do your thing and leave the copy-kitties to their own devices!
Debbie/Phx AZ
This was the design in question. It is a blatant copy where someone else is making money off of Johnny Cupcakes design and idea.
Having some of my designs ripped off and sold to Threadless I know first hand how it feels when others profit off your own ideas. Johnny is in a position where he can do something about it, and I wish him the best.
Maybe if he had come up with something original then maybe, just maybe, it could be justified, but "Make ___ not war" has been around for ages! People have been inserting new words in the phrase "make love not war" since the sixties, so he certainly doesn't own it. Gimme' a break, a simple google search will show you lots of shirts with a variety of "make ___ not war" slogans.