Dunkin' Donuts Sends Cease-And-Desist Letter To North Attleboro Coffee Shop Owner
NORTH ATTLEBORO (CBS) – Steve Copoulos didn't think twice when he wrote a slogan on his North Attleboro coffee shop window in washable marker.
"North now runs on Mike's," Copoulos wrote on the window of the newly reopened Mike's Coffee. A short time later, he added nearby Plainville to the window as well.
"I thought that was a great idea. It was fun. It was something that would be catchy," Copoulos, who got the idea from a customer, told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Dunkin' Donuts, however, did not agree.
The corporation sent Copoulos a cease-and-desist letter, claiming that saying "North now runs on Mike's" could create the "likelihood of confusion among consumers."
Dunkin' Donuts trademarked the phrase "America Runs On Dunkin."
"It didn't dawn on me. I'm not thinking like a big multi-billion dollar corporation," said Copoulos, who said he prefers to think of his shop as more of small town business.
Despite his objections, Copoulos erased the message from the Mike's Coffee window.
"I thought it was silly or foolish that they would even send me a legal letter like that," said Copoulos.
"There's no way I wanted anybody to even think of me anything like Dunkin' Donuts. That's not who I am. I'm completely opposite of them."
