Copper Moon Coffee, a coffee roasting company based in Lafayette, Indiana, has filed a lawsuit against a Cleveland cafe called The Copper Moon, claiming that a viral TikTok video caused confusion between the two businesses. The Indiana company is alleging federal trademark infringement, unfair competition, false designation of origin, and trademark dilution.
The legal action follows a TikTok video posted in August 2024 that garnered millions of views and hundreds of negative comments. The video showed a barista at The Copper Moon refusing to sell coffee to a customer who allegedly intended to give it to a homeless person outside the shop, a practice reportedly against the cafe’s policy. The barista was filmed saying, “I will lose my job,” before the video was removed from the platform.
Copper Moon Coffee asserts that it has faced backlash, including negative comments and direct messages from customers who mistakenly believed the controversial policy was linked to their brand. Copper Moon Coffee, which roasts and produces coffee in Lafayette, Indiana, distributes its products directly to consumers and through grocery stores across the U.S., including Ohio.
In the complaint, filed in October 2024 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Copper Moon Coffee stated that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Cleveland cafe owners regarding trademark infringement but received no response.
The defendant, formally known as Orlando Coffee Company LLC, has denied most of the plaintiff’s allegations, including those of trademark infringement and dilution, and is calling for a jury trial.
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