Suit settled in Whisler’s Drive Up case

Whisler's Drive-Up Sign

A restaurant in Springfield, Missouri, that was sued last year for using essentially the same name as the Whisler’s Drive Up restaurant in Carthage, Missouri, will change its name this weekend after a settlement was reached.

The Whisler’s restaurant in Springfield will change its name to Springfield Sliders on Saturday, reported the Springfield News-Leader. The owner of Whisler’s Drive Up sued in April, alleging a trademark violation when the Springfield restaurant adopted the name.

Whisler’s Drive Up has operated at 300 N. Garrison Ave., in Carthage since 1953 on an alignment that was Route 66 from the 1930s to 1972. The owner of the Carthage restaurant trademarked the Whisler’s name in 2010.

According to a 2015 report, the Springfield restaurant’s previous owner, Josh Butcher, told the News-Leader in 2012 there was a connection between it and the Carthage Whisler’s.

Butcher said, in that story, that he grew up in Carthage and that his “friend’s father” bought the Carthage restaurant in the 1990s. It says “Butcher asked about starting a Whisler’s in Springfield and the owner supported the idea.”

The Springfield restaurant’s Facebook page says it was the first franchise from the Carthage restaurant.

Apparently that gentleman’s agreement ended when the Springfield eatery got a new owner. , Michael Evans Holdings LLC alleged in the lawsuit:

“The defendants’ use of the (trademarks) ‘Whisler’s’ and ‘Whisler’s of Springfield’ in connection with fast-food restaurant services is likely to cause consumer confusion, mistake and deception,” the suit says, arguing that the Springfield restaurant’s use of the name “dilutes the value of the Whisler’s (trademark) owned” by Drew Evans in Carthage.

The suit says the Carthage Whisler’s has “become well and favorably known” in the area and customers might “mistakenly conclude that the service offered” in Springfield “are licensed or certified by” the Carthage owners.

The restaurants are about 60 miles from each other.

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