Tulsa park, Shawnee coffee shop settle lawsuit
After a social media backlash, an award-winning Tulsa park has dismissed its trademark infringement lawsuit against a small Shawnee coffee shop.
The dismissal Tuesday came after a settlement was reached that apparently allows the coffee shop to keep its name.
The riverside park in Tulsa is known simply as Gathering Place. The business in downtown Shawnee operates under the name The Gathering Place Coffee Co.
The lawsuit alleged the coffee shop “intentionally mimicked” the name of the park to unjustly benefit from its fame.
“This couldn’t be further from the truth,” the coffee shop owners countered in a Facebook post.
“It is hard to think that someone would actually be confused between a world renowned outdoor play space and a small local coffee shop located an hour and a half apart.”
The park’s operator, Tulsa’s Gathering Place LLC, sued the business, Bayly Coffee LLC, on Sept. 24 in Oklahoma City federal court. They reached a settlement Monday and announced it in a short statement.
They told the media they had reached a mutually acceptable agreement “in an effort to both protect trademark rights and to defray costs of litigation.”
They said the agreement allows Bayly Coffee LLC to “license the use of the GATHERING PLACE trademarks from Tulsa’s Gathering Place.”
Such licensing arrangements typically involve payments of some kind.
They also told reporters that no additional media statements would be provided and no requests for interviews would be accepted.
Hundreds lashed out at the park on Facebook after the lawsuit was filed, with some vowing never to go there again.
“Shouldn’t be suing PEOPLE. Especially mom and pop businesses. SHAME SHAME SHAME!” one critic commented on the park’s Facebook page.
More than 9,000 signed an online petition in support of the coffee shop.