Testy turf war pits Hub’s Tasty against Chipotle

Local burger chain Tasty Burger is locking horns with fast-food burrito giant Chipotle over its new burger spin-off company, claiming the just-launched Tasty Made chain violates the Hub company ’ s trademark.

“When a $12 billion company comes in and effectively puts a mark out there that’s confusing to your identity and your company, and they have the wherewithal to put that internationally, that’s a serious threat,” said David Dubois, chief executive of Tasty Burger Corp. “It’s literally the protection of our brand.”

In addition to the ceaseand-desist letter it sent Chipotle over the summer, Tasty Burger filed a formal objection to Tasty Made’s trademark application yesterday, arguing that the name and logo are too similar.

But Chipotle stresses that there are some key differences to the logo — including Tasty Made’s star in the middle and the shape of the outline around the name.

“There is no trademark conflict between our name and the Tasty Burger name,” said Danielle Moore, a spokeswoman for Chipotle. “We view no confusion or conflict here. While we did discuss Tasty Burger’s concerns with them, such discussions led us to believe that Tasty Burger is simply using this as a way to build awareness for their brand and has no valid legal basis to challenge our trademark.”

Dubois rejected these claims, saying the legal fees alone are far too costly to be brushed aside as a publicity stunt.

Tasty Made opened its first restaurant in Ohio yesterday, with more planned around the country. The opening comes as Tasty Burger is expanding beyond Boston, with locations in Detroit and Washington, D.C.

STAFF PHOTO BY STUART CAHILL EMBROILED: Tasty Burger, which is expanding beyond its Greater Boston locations — including one on L Street in Southie, shown — is battling Chipotle, which just launched the Tasty Made chain, saying similar logos, below, and names could confuse...