This Portland-centric trademark lawsuit has some interesting facts. Normally a consumer might not confuse coffee roasters with pizza makers, but what about when they’re just one block apart?

Apparently the individual Defendant, a well-known Portland restaurateur and owner of Blue Star Donuts, used to be a daily visitor to Plaintiff’s Heart cafe on SW 12th Avenue. In addition to their coffee, he also seemingly liked their name, deciding to start an unrelated pizza shop called Heart Pizza just 0.1 miles away.

The Complaint (below) asserts actual confusion and alleges false representations of permission made by Defendant. Cease-and-desist communications from Plaintiff were unsuccessful, hence this lawsuit.

Stay tuned for updates.

Heart, LLC v. Heart Pizza, LLC et al.

Court Case Number: 3:17-cv-01297-YY
File Date: Monday, August 21, 2017
Plaintiff: Heart, LLC
Plaintiff Counsel: Kenneth R. Davis II, Parna A. Mehrbani of LANE POWELL PC
Defendant: Heart Pizza, LLC, Micah Camden
Cause: Unfair Competition, Oregon Trademark Infringement, Common Law Trademark Infringement, Common Law Unfair Competition
Court: District of Oregon
Judge: Youlee Yim You

Complaint: