A Canadian barbershop chain is backing off the cease-and-desist letter it sent to a Dartmouth, N.S., business with a similar name.

Thong Luong opened Tommy's Barber Shop on Albro Lake Road in 2003. He called his business Tommy's Barber Shop because he thought people would have a hard time pronouncing his Vietnamese name, Thong.

On May 9, Luong got a letter in the mail from lawyers representing Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop alleging trademark infringement and saying, "further use of the name Tommy's Barber Shop will cause confusion in the marketplace and depreciate the value."

After public outcry, the firm announced Thursday evening that it won't be taking further action against Luong.

"The news is excellent," said Luong.

He said he received many telephone calls of support from complete strangers from places as far away as Vancouver, Toronto and New Brunswick. He even had a lawyer call to offer his services pro bono.

Touched by support

"I said to my wife, my family, my children, 'Don't worry.' My daughter cried, but I said, 'Don't worry. We have a lot of good people here to look after us,'" said Luong.

He said each call he received provided a great deal of comfort to him and he wants to thank people for the support they've offered.

Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop has locations across Canada, including one in Dartmouth's Mic Mac Mall. (CBC)

"It was very emotional to see the reaction of how people care for each other in Canada," said Luong.

Luong moved to Canada from Vietnam in 1994. He completed high school here and eventually found work as a dishwasher and security guard — often, he says, working 90-hour weeks.

Company apologizes

In a statement issued Thursday evening by Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop, the company apologized to Luong for "any undue stress" it has caused him.

"Now that we have all of the relevant information, we do not intend to pursue this matter any further. Mr. Luong is well within his legal rights to use his name for his barbershop," said the statement.

According to the Canadian Trademark Database, Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop first applied to register the trademark on its name in 2009, six years after Luong opened his shop.

Tommy Gun's website says it has 70 locations "across Canada and the world," including two locations in Nova Scotia — one off Larry Uteck Boulevard in Bedford and another at Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth.