OFF BEAT: Starbucks loses battle over 'Charbucks' name

There’s no crime in their rhyme — and a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks Corp.’s request for an injunction barring Wolfe’s Borough Coffee Inc. and its subsidiary, Black Bear Micro Roastery, from selling a line of coffee it calls “Charbucks.”

Starbucks originally sued the Center Tuftonboro, N.H.-based coffee roaster in 2001, claiming that the Charbucks brand was confusingly similar to its own line of products, constituting trademark infringement under federal law, according to court documents.

In 2011, a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York denied Starbucks’ request for an injunction, ruling that the Charbucks name was “minimally similar” to the company’s trademark.

The unanimous ruling by the 2nd Circuit in New York upheld the District Court’s opinion.