The owner of the Red Lobster and Olive Garden restaurant brands has sued a T.G.I. Friday’s franchisee over its “never-ending shrimp” promotion. Darden Restaurants, Inc., which owns the Red Lobster and Olive Garden brands, argues that the Briad Group’s San Diego T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants infringe Darden’s NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL trademark. Darden claims that the T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants are willfully misleading consumers by combining two of Darden’s popular restaurant concepts: the never-ending pasta bowl available at Olive Garden restaurants and the all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet frequently offered at Red Lobster restaurants.

Darden, which owns a federal service mark registration for NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL for restaurant services, has sued Briad for service mark infringement, false designation of origin, and dilution of its federally-registered mark. Darden claims that its NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL mark is strong, as it is the only federally-registered “NEVER ENDING” mark in the restaurant services field. The company claims that consumers have come to identify Darden and its Olive Garden chain as the source of the services associated with the NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL mark and are likely to be confused into believing that Darden and the Olive Garden are somehow affiliated with Briad’s T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants.

Darden also claims that Briad’s use of its “never ending shrimp” promotion – which Darden alleges combines the Olive Garden “never ending pasta bowl” concept and the Red Lobster all-you-can-eat shrimp promotion – violates California’s unfair competition laws and is likely to mislead consumers into believing that the Briad T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants are somehow related to Darden’s restaurant chains.

Darden has asked a federal district judge in California to enjoin Briad from infringing the NEVER ENDING PASTA BOWL mark or otherwise engaging in behavior that may confuse consumers as to the source of the “never ending shrimp” promotion. Darden has also asked for an accounting of profits and attorney’s fees. The case is Darden Concepts, Inc. v. Briad Restaurant Group, LLC, Docket No. 10-cv-2077 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 6, 2010). Litigation is ongoing.

This case demonstrates the lengths to which trademark owners may go to defend their valuable marks from what they perceive to be exploitation by third parties. To find out more about Arent Fox’s work in trademark counseling and litigation, please contact:

Anthony V. Lupo
lupo.anthony@arentfox.com
202.857.6353

Grace L. Applefeld
applefeld.grace@arentfox.com
202.857.6498

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About Arent Fox:
Arent Fox LLP (www.arentfox.com), with offices in Washington, DC, New York City, and Los Angeles, is a recognized leader in areas including intellectual property, real estate, telecommunications, health care, automotive, sports, white collar, international trade, bankruptcy, and complex litigation. With more than 350 lawyers nationwide, Arent Fox has extensive experience in corporate securities, financial restructuring, government relations, labor and employment, finance, tax, corporate compliance, and the global business market. The firm represents Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, trade associations, foreign governments and other entities.