Trader Joe's is a supermarket in the US known for good quality, lower priced package foods, while Trader Joe is a crypto exchange you've likely never heard of. Trader Joe's is suing to protect its brand, likely because the association with crypto could ruin the sweet taste of speculoos cookies.
The gentleman who runs the exchange seems unlikely to travel from Singapore to defend himself, so the market will likely get a default judgment. Stopping the exchange from using the name will be interesting. The market claims they are being boldly ripped off; the exchange says it is named after one of its active traders, Joe.
"Defendants named the platform 'after the supermarket'— none other than Trader Joe's—and developed a narrative around a fictionalized 'Trader Joe' who sells his crops in the local marketplace, further evoking Trader Joe's business and brand. An image of 'Trader Joe' donning a red cap (the famed color of Trader Joe's logo, store motifs, and memorabilia) serves as the platform's avatar."
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"He asserted that the platform's 'Trader Joe"' name was not an 'intentional misspelling of the TRADER JOE'S' mark. He further represented to WIPO that, instead, the platform was "named for Respondent's brother, Joe Liu, who is an active member of the Trader Joe community," the lawsuit reads.
