Fastfood outlet Chicken Licken has won an appeal to prevent a rival outlet from using several terms to brand their meals.
|||Durban - Even “shisa” is a term too hot to handle when it comes to branding chicken. And a new chicken fast-food outlet – which is taking on rival Chicken Licken in the Durban city centre – has been forced to rebrand its chicken wings twice in a legal war over trademarks.
Earlier this month, Chicken Licken took Big Jo’s to the Durban High Court, claiming it was illegally using its “hot wings” branding – a highly successful trademark it had registered decades ago and used on its biggest seller, which raked in hundreds of thousands of rand every year.
In response, Big Jo’s assured that the wording had been withdrawn and replaced with “shisa wings”.
But this, Chicken Licken lawyer Andrew Kennedy said, was merely a Zulu translation of the word “hot” and, in effect, it appeared they had chosen to continue to use the trademark but with a small variation.
And now Big Jo’s have backed off completely.
In an order taken by consent on Thursday, the company undertook to remove the words “hot wings” and “shisa” and “shisa wings” from its menus and advertising material.
It also agreed to pay R25 000 as a contribution to Chicken Licken’s legal costs.
In an e-mail to The Mercury, Big Jo’s Grant Harvey said the company was flattered that Chicken Licken felt threatened by it.
“We are happy to amend our wings description.
“That’s no problem. It’s our quality and price that do the talking,” he said.