Yardbird Foods Ltd. trademarked Honest Umami under Class 30 (food stuffs of plant origin) early last year ahead of launching a small range of MSG-based seasonings that are now stocked by major online retailers including Ocado and Amazon.
But the better burger brand, which operates around 40 locations, is now opposing Yardbird Foods Ltd.’s use of the word ‘Honest’.
Honest Burger registered Honest Burger and the single word Honest as a trademark over a decade ago under Class 43 (services for providing food and drink including restaurants) and Class 30 as well as Class 29 (foodstuffs including meat, fish, poultry, and game).
It is understood that Honest Burger is opposing Yardbird Foods Ltd.’s use of the term Honest because it could create the likelihood of confusion.
Honest Umami is calling on the UK Intellectual Property Office to revoke the burger chain’s single-word “Honest” trademark.
“We don’t sell burgers. We don’t run restaurants. We sell small pots of seasoning for home cooking. The idea anyone could confuse pots with a burger chain is baffling, there’s no visual or thematic similarity whatsoever. Honest is a generic term in food and drink, it’s widely used to convey quality and transparency, not to point to one business. If one company can lock it away, what’s to stop bigger players from claiming everyday words like ‘Natural’, ‘Pure’ or ‘Fresh’?”
Honest Burger declined to comment.