Buc-ee’s wins federal court trademark fight against competitor Choke Canyon

FILE - A composite photograph of the logos of Buc-ee's and Choke Canyon. Tuesday, a Houston jury ruled against Choke Canyon's alligator mascot, declaring the logo infringed on Buc-ee's brand of roadside emporiums. less FILE - A composite photograph of the logos of Buc-ee's and Choke Canyon. Tuesday, a Houston jury ruled against Choke Canyon's alligator mascot, declaring the logo infringed on Buc-ee's brand of roadside ... more Photo: File/Houston Chronicle Photo: File/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Buc-ee’s wins federal court trademark fight against competitor Choke Canyon 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A federal jury Tuesday ended a trademark battle between two titans of the Texas travel-stop industry, finding that a grinning green gator had unlawfully invaded a toothy beaver's turf.

The jury determined after six hours of deliberation that Choke Canyon's finger-licking alligator logo violated state and federal trademark law, infringing on the already established Buc-ee's beaver that's a stand-in for the popular chain of travel centers.

"It's absolutely not about a beaver versus an alligator," said Jeff Nadalo, general counsel for Buc-ee's Ltd. "There are more than 10 similarities between the two marks that we presented to the jury in this case."

But Charles Hanor, the lead counsel for the San Antonio-based Choke Canyon, said, "We respect the jury's verdict but we don't understand it since all the evidence indicated there was no confusion."

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Hanor added that convincing the jury of that was difficult because, "Everybody in the jury panel knew about Buc-ee's, loved Buc-ee's and were fans of Buc-ee's."

"We couldn't exclude them all," he said, referring to the jury panel. Hanor said his client, owner Amjad "John" Panjwani, who built his business on barbecue restaurants hitched to Exxon stations, planned to appeal the case.

A trial lawyer for Buc-ee's, which is headquartered in Lake Jackson, told jurors in a heavily branded multimedia presentation that the popular gas stop chain spent "blood, sweat and tears" building its reputation and wanted Choke Canyon to stop "riding its coattails" with a logo that confuses highway travelers into pulling off at a rival business.

In contrast, Hanor, the lawyer for Choke Canyon, told jurors in his closing that Buc-ee's presented no evidence that shoppers were confused about which chain was which. A survey found more than 99 percent of 300 people surveyed by a defense expert said they were not confused between the two brands.

The lawsuit brought by mega-chain Buc-ee's said that Choke Canyon's alligator logo, pictured against a round yellow backdrop, was too similar to the buck-toothed beaver who represents its 33 gas stops. Buc-ee's also complained that Choke Canyon illegally mimicked its in-store offerings, including friendly service, ample stock and plentiful, clean bathrooms.

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Hanor noted to jurors that Denny's, Best Buy, Chase, Lay's and McDonald's all use the color yellow prominently in their yellow logos, but no one confuses them with one another.

Experts said that to win a case like this, the jury must find there is a probability consumers would be confused by a competitor's logo.

"I'm surprised that Buc-ee's won," said Chris Schwegmann, a trademark attorney at Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst in Dallas. "I haven't seen any of the trial evidence, but I just can't see how any reasonable juror could find a likelihood of confusion between those two logos. One is a beaver, the other is an alligator. One has a ball cap, the other has a cowboy hat. The design of the logos is different and the alligator logo even has the name of the store directly on the sign, further diminishing any confusion between the two stores."

During one week of testimony, the jury was asked to look at how the Choke Canyon logo evolved over time, standing upright in later versions and becoming more cartoonish, with a bright red tongue. Some versions of the logo they saw had the wording from around the alligator removed. They looked at photographs of the bathroom areas and compared T-shirts from the two stores.

The panel of three women and nine men ultimately found Choke Canyon liable on each of four counts including trademark infringement and trademark dilution.

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison asked the lawyer to discuss plans for an injunction. The case for damages is pending.

Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com.