The proprietor of Edinburgh restaurant Wedgwood has been issued a writ by the famous ceramics maker of the same name claiming he has infringed its copyright.
Paul Wedgwood, who opened his restaurant on Edinburgh's Royal Mile last year, has received a letter from Wedgwood Ltd ordering him to change the type font on his sign which, it said, matched its own, and remove photographs of any ceramics from menus.
The company also demanded the restaurant stops using the Wedgwood trademark pale blue colour on its website and that the eatery changes its name to "Paul Wedgwood".
The restaurant owner told The Scotsman: "I'm disgusted with them. We have done everything we can to disassociate ourselves with them. And some of their demands were simply crazy. We use a volcanic red on our website, not blue.
"All the ceramics we use are clearly branded Steelite, Wedgwood's main competitors, and the same goes for all cutlery and glasses used in the restaurant."
Although Wedgwood Ltd is primarily known for fine china, it insists it is also well known for running tearooms in the UK and abroad and is associated with cookery competitions.
Andrew Straistreet, Wedgwood Group communications executive, told The Scotsman: “We have written to the restaurant on countless occasions asking them to change their fonts and to stop using our blue colour trademark.
“We have had correspondence from tourists who have gone into their restaurant on the misapprehension that it was a Wedgwood store.
"We have restaurants in Japan and have also run catering competitions in the past so there is a clear case of confusion,” he added.
However, Wedgwood is standing firm and insists he will win the legal battle.
Business advice: Securing intangible assets >>
Business advice: Starting a restaurant >>
Copyright advice from the Business Link >>
By Daniel Thomas
E-mail your comments to Daniel Thomas here.
| | Newsletters
For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters. | |