Texas travel-stop chain Buc-ee’s sues Missouri booze-thru, alleging trademark infringement

Texas’ favorite buck-toothed beaver lawyering up again, this time suing a duck-themed drive-thru liquor store in Missouri over alleged trademark infringement.

Buc-ee’s filed the suit earlier this month against Duckees Drive-Thru of Kimberling, Missouri, in the federal Western District Court of Missouri, court documents show.

In its legal filing, Buc-ee’s alleges Duckees — owned by Kansas City-based 2 Wiseman Enterprises — intentionally mimics the name and logo of Texas’ best-known chain of travel stops.

Buc-ee’s is seeking damages including an injunction preventing Duckees from using its current name or logo. The company also is demanding the destruction of any Duckees branded products featuring the logo and any profits made from the logo’s use.

Lawyers representing Buc-ee’s argue that the Duckees logo, which features a duck in a green shirt giving a thumbs up on a yellow, circular background, could confuse customers into believing that Duckees is actually a Buc-ee’s. Buc-ee’s logo features a beaver in a red hat against a yellow circular background.

In its pleading, Buc-ee’s also argues the name Duckees is “nearly identical orally and visually” to its Texas counterpart.

Although the suit may seem like a long shot, this same argument netted Buc-ee’s court victories in the past.

In 2018, the rancorous beaver sued Texas eatery Choke Canyon Bar-B-Q in Houston federal court for alleged trademark infringement, as previously reported by the Houston Chronicle.

In that suit, Buc-ee’s argued that the restaurant’s logo — which featured an alligator wearing a cowboy hat on a yellow background — could confuse potential customers about whether the barbecue joint was actually a Buc-ee’s.

Despite 99% of 300 surveyed by the defense saying that Choke Canyon’s logo caused no confusion with Buc-ee’s, the jury ruled in the beaver’s favor.

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This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2024.