They remain one litigious beaver.
Everyone’s favorite beaver is back in the courtroom crying foul over another gas station’s use of rodent-like iconography. Buc-ee’s, known for its wide selection of beaver-centric merch and clean bathrooms, has filed several trademark infringement suits over the past couple years, and a small Dallas-based gas station chain is the latest target.
Buc-ee’s has spent the last 40 years building up its reputation in Texas and several other states. Now, a tourist and local hotspot alike, the iconic beaver with the red hat backed by a yellow circle has come to mean a lot to Texans in particular.
Well, a newer chain has hit the market in the greater Dallas area, Super Fuels, which has a logo of a dog-like figure wearing a red cape with a blue circle behind it. This, says Buc-ee’s attorneys, too closely resembles the beloved beaver and the Buc-ee’s trademarked imagery.
“[Super Fuels’] use of the infringing marks is likely to cause confusing among consumers in the relevant market as to the source and origin of [Super Fuels’] services,” the Buc-ee’s lawsuit filed in the Northern District Court of Texas reads. “As illustrated above, [Super Fuels’] infringing marks prominently feature an anthropomorphic and cartoon representation of a smiling animal that closely resembles a beaver, which is similarly positioned in a right-facing angle and is depicted in front of a circular background.”
Essentially, Buc-ee’s argues that Super Fuels’ logo will confuse consumers into a false sense of security and service they’ve come to expect from Buc-ee’s long-built reputation. And Buc-ee’s further says they had the brand idea first, noting Super Fuels filings show the company didn’t start using the animal-centric logo until late 2022.
See here for the previous lawsuit, from December. I thought that one was kind of weak, but this one, whatever you may think of it, is squarely in their zone. If nothing else, their track record of filing lawsuits over imagery like this is very clear, and I have to wonder if the folks at Super Fuels was ignorant of it somehow, or if they were advised that what they were doing was fine. Either way, they found out. I’m guessing this will eventually get settled.
Yeah, I’d get the two confused as well…right up until the point where I saw the giant signage that said Super Fuel and not Buc-Ee.
No one is getting these two confused – one is a no longer obnoxious destination of mine that sells anything/everything relabeled with their hideous logos and is owned by some a-holes, and the other sells gas.
I’ll take a stop at one of the 20 or so ‘The Texan’ stores any day.
https://thetexanstores.com/locations/