Poke Restaurant’s Trademark Enforcement Sparks Protests

Trademark enforcement, particularly in an age of social media and internet shaming, is tricky business.  Some brands (I’m looking at you Louis Vuitton) seem to have enough market share to ignore social backlash arising from its heavy-handed demand letters.  But companies that lack that kind of brand power could benefit from a bit more finesse in their enforcement efforts. Aloha Poke Co. is a Chicago-based poke restaurant.  Poke—a traditional Hawaiian dish of raw fish—has spread through the mainland in the form of fast-casual rice bowls topped with colorful veggies and sauces.  Aloha Poke opened its first store in 2016.  The company now boasts 15 locations across the U.S., including one right here in Minneapolis.  Aloha Poke holds two trademark registrations, one of which is a word mark for ALOHA POKE.  Despite the questionable trademark use of a word as ubiquitous as “Aloha,” the Trademark Office registered the…

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