Trademark war
has songwriter Buffett
pretty cheesed off
Restaurants on Maui
and Oahu use the name of one
of his best-known songs,
'Cheeseburger in Paradise'A meeting between the parties
By Tim Ryan
to discuss a possible settlement is
scheduled for next week
Star-BulletinDON'T mess with a pirate at 51, even if he has a bad knee from basketball, a sore neck from a plane crash, suffers some major hair loss and hasn't had a top-10 record in, well, a very, very long time.
"Hell, there's a faction of my fans who don't think I've done anything worth a ---- since 1975," Jimmy Buffett says yesterday at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. "They're called 'The Church of Buffett' and they're purists, but that's OK with me. I have such a broad body of work, there's something for everyone."
But Buffett didn't fly in from Maui where he and some of his band members have been surfing for four days to talk story about his well-documented career. It seems Buffett earlier this week was strolling down Front Street in Lahaina when he overheard a tourist say to a friend something about eating at "Jimmy Buffett's" restaurant Cheeseburger in Paradise, which, of course, is the title of his popular 1978 song.
The problem is, Buffett doesn't have anything to do with the restaurant, which opened in 1989, or the one in Waikiki. In 1997 he sued owners Edna Bayliff and Laren Gartner for trademark infringement seeking unspecified damages and for the restaurant to change its name.
Last month, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that the trademark by Cheeseburger owners was invalid. He did not rule out the owners from being allowed to use the name for the restaurants, however.
According to Buffett and a Cheeseburger spokesperson on Maui, a meeting between the parties to discuss a possible settlement is scheduled for next week. But now, despite his special trip to Oahu, the talkative Buffett wants to clam up, saying he can't comment on the matter until after the just announced meeting.
"We will probably settle ... in a week, and until then I was advised not to comment."
In a written statement, Laren Gartner, Cheeseburger in Paradise president, said "The litigation with Mr. Buffett is ongoing, and we look forward to a positive outcome of current settlement negotiations."
The restaurant's attorneys in a written statement said the business for the last five years has had "a national federal registration" issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and therefore assumed the name could be used for restaurants "anywhere in the United States." The restaurant planned to expand on the mainland.
What does Buffett want from any settlement?
"I want them to pay my legal fees, and I want my name back."
Despite his easygoing persona, hedonistic songs and lifestyle, and happy-go-lucky smile, the restaurant's use of "words I wrote and put together" clearly has Buffett, well, "very pissed."
"They're just one of several people who have done this sort of thing to me, but the ones who really bother me are those out to make a huge cash profit from my name and reputation," he said. "All artists have is the stuff they create."
Buffett said the company is no "mom-and-pop operation" but one that makes large profits.
"If they had been a little shack on the beach on Maui, I would have never bothered them."
Another major concern is the public's perception that he's somehow involved with the restaurant.
Buffett this year had one of the top-grossing touring bands in the country. His income this year alone from his best-selling book -- "A Pirate Looks at 50" -- concerts, record sales, his Margarita restaurants and merchandise reportedly is more than $30 million.
Buffett last performed here about four years ago at a private party on Kauai. Before that was a 1992 benefit at the Blaisdell Arena for Hurricane Iniki victims.
Interestingly, Buffett's favorite songs are not those most popular with fans.
"But I'm so glad I wrote them because I caught a wave and it's still going."
What about the song "Cheeseburger in Paradise?"
"Now next week, that could be my favorite song."
