New York City's Museum of Modern Art — widely known as MoMA — is suing a recently opened New York City café called "MoMaCha" for trademark infringement. The lawsuit follows a cease-and-desist letter sent to the café in late March before it opened. Check out the two logos:
In court documents, Reuters reports, the Museum of Modern Art claims "there is no possibility that they were not aware of MoMA or its famous MOMA mark prior to starting their business earlier this month." The lawsuit goes on to claim MoMaCha is "blatantly attempting to take advantage of the MOMA Marks, which are unquestionably famous within the modern and contemporary art space, to promote their newly launched art gallery and café business..."
Located on New York City's Lower East Side, MoMaCha is just a little over 3 miles from the museum. The café's co-owner, Eric Cahan, in a statement sent to Hyperallergic, said: "We're a matcha cafe with a creative side, just like many coffee shops. In short, we aren't a museum. We're a group of good listeners who love making people feel happy through matcha and shared experiences." He also said the café plans to change its logo seasonally.
MoMaCha filed two trademark applications with the USPTO recently: for its name, in November 2017, and one in January 2018 for "MOMA" in international classes 30 (beverages) and 43 (restaurant services).
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