KFC Sues Church's Chicken for Using 'Original Recipe' in New Ads

Few fast-food chains are as dialed in on branding as KFC, so when developing a new marketing campaign, it's best to avoid treading all over their territory.

Church's Chicken did the opposite of that, and because of it, the fried chicken chain has found itself hit with a juicy lawsuit.

Though Church's has been around in Texas since the '50s, it took about two decades before it made any moves to new locations. West Coasters may not know it as well as Southerners, but Church's has a massive presence in the U.S., with almost 1,000 stores, and another 500 spread across 25 more countries.

Church's Chicken has recently begun advertising some new chicken, bragging about the fact that they've gone back to the "original recipe." This is famously what KFC calls its fried chicken, in reference to Harland Sanders' original recipe.

"On behalf of all fried chicken lovers out there, we take it personally when another company tries to claim our iconic taste and branding as their own," a KFC spokesperson said to Reuters. "We remain committed to protecting our brand's intellectual property and safeguarding the experience of our customers."

This trademark is actually 40 years old, so it's pretty nuts that Church's managed to overlook this one. Back in 1984, KFC begun using "Original Recipe" to refer to the company's famous blend of 11 herbs and spices.

It feels impossible that Church's didn't know this.

KFC is alleging that Church's is violating trademark rights with the phrase "Original Recipe."

The Colonel also alleges that back on Oct. 24, KFC sent a letter of objection to Church's. This was apparently ignored, so here we are. The full details of the claim can be seen here.

This is a pretty reasonable lawsuit since it's the basis of KFC's entire brand, but KFC's sales are down 5% after a series of declining quarters. Maybe there's some desperation to smell in all of this.

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