The breakfast IHOP says the IHOP church is taking advantage of the restaurant chain's famous name and letters.
The pancake IHOP dished up the lawsuit to the Kansas City-based house of prayer last week in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The restaurant IHOP, which trademarked the initials in 1973, claims infringement and trademark dilution as the grounds for their lawsuit.
The restaurant IHOP, which trademarked the initials in 1973, claims infringement and trademark dilution as the grounds for their lawsuit.
The restaurant's spokesman says the acronym infringement is becoming a problem because the church is expanding and some branches are serving food.
They decided to formerly press charges because the church refused repeated requests to stop using the trademark.
"We are compelled to protect the 350 small-business owners who own IHOP franchises and the IHOP good name that's been around for 52 years," the spokesperson said.
Gary Hecker, a well-known intellectual rights attorney in Los Angeles, said he believes the courts will side with the restaurant chains because the prominence of the acronym may give IHOP the "right to protect itself even well outside the scope of selling pancakes."
However, Gary Hooper, a former Houston attorney who until recently served as the church mission's chief financial officer, said he didn't think the lawsuit had any legal basis.
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