Cockfight! KFC Suing Church’s Chicken Over Copyright Infringement

The chicken isn’t the only thing heating up at two major chicken fast food joints. KFC has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Church’s Texas Chicken over the use of the term “original recipe.”

A few weeks ago, Church’s decided that they wanted to run a marketing campaign to rustle up some business. With that, they decided to take things back to their roots, bringing back their own original recipe.

Church’s hit the campaign trail and starting advertising that their “original recipe” was back.

Here is the issue: Colonel Sanders himself (KFC) has had that term — the two words “original recipe” — in-use since 1972. It was trademarked in 1984.

You know, those coveted KFC 11 herbs and spices that nobody really knows any details on.

The lawsuit was filed in Texas. In court documents, KFC says they sent a letter to Church’s on Oct. 24 objecting to their use of “original recipe,” stating it infringed on KFC’s trademark.

The document goes onto show that Church’s ignored the letter and continued using the phrase like it was nobody’s business. The suit alleges “willful and in reckless disregard of KFC’s legal rights.”

Those harsh words aren’t chicken scratch — they are spelled out in great detail and get even harsher. Here are the fightin’ words:

“Purchasers and prospective purchases who are disappointed with (Church’s) products and services are likely to attribute their dissatisfaction to KFC.”

Mic drop for KFC on that one. The chicken brand is asking for unspecified monetary compensation and for Church’s to cease use of “original recipe” in all ads and slogans moving forward.