Brisbane Greek restaurant to change name after trademark dispute
Little Greek Taverna, a Greek restaurant based in Brisbane, Australia, has obtained an interlocutory injunction from the Federal Court of Australia in a trademark dispute against Little Greek Cuzina, another restaurant in the same city.
The injunction, which was issued on September 5, restrains Cuzina from using the word “little” in the course of trade in connection with services for which Taverna’s trademark is registered, as the court found its name to be deceptively similar to the registered trademark of Taverna.
Taverna filed a complaint against Cuzina, claiming that Cuzina’s name was confusing customers and as a result was damaging its business.
Elli Parmaklis, the co-owner of Taverna, told the Federal Court that she had been contacted “countless times with complaints that ‘our’ Graceville or Bulimba restaurants weren’t at the same standard as the original Little Greek Taverna in West End”.
She also told the court that the amount of consumer confusion has directly resulted in a decline in revenue.
As a result, the court has ordered Cuzina to remove the word “little” from its name.
