Harold's Chicken Stores - Daughter Fights for Legacy

"The daughter of the founder of Harold’s Chicken Shack is asking for the city’s help in her fight to stop people from ripping off the iconic brand."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/2 ... 1L-WLG9Kc1

I'm asking this as I truly don't know but did she or her father trademark and legally protect what she needed to so this wouldn't have happened? If they had their ducks in a row I'd think that one call to their attorney would have prevented all this, otherwise I could open up hot dog joints all over Chicago and call them Portillo's. The daughter said that,“With my dad, it was just a basic license agreement that allowed a person to use his name, his recipe and his logo,”. With that very basic premise, does she have much legal ground to stand on?

Hi,

I doubt the city will offer any remedy, because it should be played out in court. If the city did get involved, it would open a can of worms. There are many enterprises in the south side and NW Indiana where competitors copy competition from menu to branding.

There is a business culture where a great idea is replicated by so many it is hard to be distinctive. Often imitated but rarely duplicated is sadly obscured in the noise created by the imitators.

I recall Lincoln O's submarines had competitors with variations of the Lincoln name in NW Indiana. There have been discussions on this board over which was original, fake and how they compared.

In the Lawndale neighborhood, there are Ma-and-Pa shaved ice cone stands informally placed in front of homes. It was someone's great idea that became a wide-spread not-as-great idea.

If Harold's obtains any city help, JJ's Fish, a number of steak and lemonade stands and other small enterprises will want assistance, too, with their copycat competitors.

Regards,