Food trucks appear to be on every corner, and the outside, transportable nature of the services makes it a great method to introduce a new food and beverage concept. With an estimated 26,000+ food truck firms in the United States, the food truck sector is expanding at an exponential rate. Because of COVID-19 pandemic-related social distance and maximum occupancy limits, mobile food consumption is more popular than ever. Given the increasing number of food trucks available to consumers and the industry’s expanding popularity, mobile food service firms’ branding has become just as crucial as their menus.
While owners of mobile food service businesses work hard to get parking licenses and refine their menus, they frequently overlook the need for trademark protection. This intellectual property is a significant asset that should be protected, whether it is the company name, logo, or motto that appears on every product or the side of your vehicle.
The Benefits of Protecting Your Food Truck Trademarks
Food trucks serve a transitory consumer demographic, and the nature of the sector necessitates constant movement. As a result, customers may forget which food truck provided their breakfast, lunch, or supper. As a result, food truck operators risk having their goods and services mistaken with those of a competitor’s food truck. A trademark allows food truck entrepreneurs to combine their goods and services with the name of their firm to establish a powerful, long-lasting brand.
A trademark in the food truck industry also allows for business expansion. If you run a food truck and want to expand into the restaurant sector, host pop-up restaurant events, or add more mobile vehicles to your fleet, registering your brand offers you a plethora of new prospects. It reassures investors, purchasers, and even lenders since they can see that you’ve gone above and beyond to safeguard your brand and carve out exclusive rights. Once your trademarks are recognized, you can license your mark to others. Furthermore, registered trademarks give federal protection, allowing you to extend your firm to any location in the country.
With so many enterprises in the food truck and mobile service industries, it’s critical to protect your brand with a trademark to prevent unauthorized uses of your mark and to defend yourself against trademark infringement charges.
In July 2020, Public Espresso, a downtown Buffalo coffee shop, filed a lawsuit against Public Coffee Hub, an adjacent food truck, saying that the food truck’s logo infringed on Public Espresso’s trademark. The food truck owners “knowingly advertising, marketing, promoting, selling, and offering for sale the exact same class of goods as Public (Espresso), consisting of coffee-based products, baked goods, and related products, and intentionally using (Public Espresso’s) name and trademark with the knowledge that such use will cause consumers to be mistaken or confused,” according to the complaint. If the junior user of the trademark had chosen a name that did not overlap with an already existing trademark, it would have likely avoided a costly litigation and been able to invest in marketing and creating their own, distinct brand.
How to Register Your Food Truck Trademarks
There are a few simple actions you can take to protect your brand if you own or manage a food truck. To begin, do an internal assessment of your intellectual property to determine what should be protected. Then, speak with an attorney to establish which intellectual property assets should be prioritized for protection and what types of trademarks are appropriate for your firm. Food trucks operate in a unique market since they offer both items, such as food and beverages, as well as services. This implies that in order to completely protect your firm, you may need to register for trademarks for the commodities you sell as well as a trademark for the service your mobile food service company provides.
Once you and your attorney have chosen the best trademarks for your company, you should register your protectable assets with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Finally, you and your attorney should create a strategic growth strategy for your intellectual property as well as a plan for defending your intellectual property if necessary.