KILLING ITS BUZZ

Trendy ingredient raises trademark issue for Coffee By Design Company says selling “CBD coffee” infringes on trademark.

Portland coffee shop argues pot legalization has others violating its trademark,

For a 25-year-old coffee brand in Maine, the cannabis compound CBD is more than just a trend. It’s a trademark. Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear opened Coffee By Design in 1994, selling coffee and espresso in an area of Portland once known as a “porn district.” Within a few years, the coffee shop had a nickname among locals: “CBD.” For awhile, that wasn’t an issue. The company opened four other locations in Maine and branched out into wholesale, selling as far away as Tokyo.

Things started to change when Maine legalized marijuana in 2016, part of the broader loosening of cannabis regulations around the U.S. This brought attention to a compound called cannabidiol, or CBD — a component of pot and hemp that doesn’t get you high, but can treat ailments like anxiety and insomnia, according to proponents.

Soon, Portland coffee shops began selling CBD, charging customers to add a few drops to their java. One customer was flummoxed when a competing coffee shop told him CBD coffee included a $5 (U.S.) surcharge, leaving him to wonder if Coffee By Design was jacking up its prices, according to Lindemann. Some of the confusion was understandable: In 2017, the company rebranded, shortening its name in logos to CBD.

But for Spear and Lindemann, the confusion is more than just a minor inconvenience. A few years earlier, they had trademarked the company name. They say the filing prevents others, nationwide, from using the term CBD for coffee products and coffee shops. That’s happening more and more these days with the buzz surrounding cannabis.