As "Comedy Central" star Nathan Fielder revealed his identity as the creator and the brains behind the "Dumb Starbucks" coffee shop in Los Feliz, California, many are wondering whether the stunt is approved by the show's network. The Hollywood Reporter said parent Viacom's legal department had signed off from the infringement-crossing stunt.
A spokesman for Viacom told the Hollywood news and entertainment site, "The episode relating to 'Dumb Starbucks' constitutes protected free expression. Viacom takes intellectual property rights seriously, and also recognizes the important constitutional protection afforded to expressive works characterized by social commentary."
The controversial coffee shop attracted not only locals but curious people on the Web, with questions ranging from whether "Dumb Starbucks" will remain operative as soon as legal challenges come in to who's behind the parody establishment, the Hollywood Reporter. Photo-sharing sites like Twitter were flooded with photos of customers who visited the site and enjoyed the free beverages, pastries, and even music CDs bearing the likeliness of the iconic coffee shop's offerings.
Starbucks initially said that it will look into it, but later released a statement insisting that the coffee shop drop their brand name, telling reporters, "They cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark."
Greenberg Glusker attorney Aaron Moss said about the "Comedy Central" stunt, "You can't just take a famous logo and trade dress, call it dumb and use it to sell the very same products in competition with the company you're making fun of. I question whether it's even a legitimate parody in the first place. The people behind 'Dumb Starbucks' are not making fun of 'Starbucks' so much as they're using its marks as a vehicle to sell their own commercial products."
Despite the coming-out of Fielder and him stating the real purpose of the coffee shop, a multinational corporation has reportedly implied that it is looking into pursuing a lawsuit against the creators of "Dumb Starbucks."
