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Starbucks sued over unicorn beverage

Posted On: May. 8, 2017 10:28 AM CST

Starbucks sued over unicorn beverage

Starbucks is learning that unicorns are not as rare as lore paints them to be. 

Unicorn-themed beverages, that is. 

A New York City cafe called The End is suing the coffee giant over its limited-time “Unicorn Frappuccino,” claiming Starbucks’ colorful, sugary drink can be confused with its all-natural “Unicorn Latte,” the Associated Press reported Friday. 

The End, which is owned by Montauk Juice Factory, started peddling its version in December and applied for a trademark on the drink in January, according to media reports. The End’s Unicorn Latte, which the cafe claims in its lawsuit took six months to develop, is whipped together with artisanal ingredients such as dates, ginger root and algae, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ latest fad drink was made with ingredients including sugar and natural and artificial flavors, the lawsuit claims. 

 “Our client Montauk Juice Factory created the Unicorn Latte, a successful product that our clients transformed into a social media sensation, developed a famous and valuable trademark, and took the appropriate steps to protect it,” attorney Josh Schiller of law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which is representing the cafe, said in a statement. “Starbucks, with its thousands of coffee shops, launched a competing product with a similar look and name, and marketed it in the same channels where our client’s product became famous, severely damaging our client’s mark.”