Almost as on brand for them as the beaver logo itself.
Texas mega-chain Buc-ee’s is suing a Sugar Land man over claims that his “Buky’s” gas station and convenience stores are “confusingly similar” to the brand’s famous logo.
The trademark lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges Buky’s owner Saarim Damani, of Sugar Land, has unlawfully capitalized on the Texas chain’s success by using a similar name and lettering on his stores in El Campo and Rosenberg.
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Damani is accused of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, among other claims. The suit claims that the similar logo potentially deceives customers into thinking Damani’s products or services “are in some manner connected with, sponsored by, affiliated with or related to Buc-ee’s.”
Damani told the Chronicle he chose the name Buky’s for his stores because it was a childhood nickname given to him by friends. He denies trying to replicate the Buc-ee’s business model and declined to comment further.
The suit asks for injunctive relief, in addition to recovering damages, profits and attorney fees. It is also seeking a jury trial.
Buc-ee’s declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
This is not the first time the mega-chain has sued to protect its famous logo. In 2018, Buc-ee’s won a suit against San Antonio-based Choke Canyon after claiming its travel stop alligator logo was too similar to the Buc-ee’s beaver.
In 2017, Buc-ee’s sued Nebraska-based convenience store chain Bucky’s after it announced plans to expand into Texas. The trademark feud between the two dates back to 2006 when both filed for trademarks months apart to protect their brands.
See here and here for more about those two previous disputes. I would also add the 2014 lawsuit against Frio River Grocery and its board shorts-wearing beaver logo to the list. While some of those earlier instances struck me as being a bit of a stretch, this one looks like a slam dunk. I mean, even a stylistic idiot such as myself can see how similar those fonts are, and the name “Buky’s” is almost insultingly close to the bigger brand. The childhood nickname story may be true, but five minutes with an intellectual property lawyer would surely have set Mr. Damani on a different design path. I feel pretty confident we’ll see another story in a few months of Buc-ee’s victory in this action.
14 days and counting……