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HaidaBucks, in the village of Masset, is owned by three Haida men and one man married to a Haida woman. The First Nation has used the term ‘bucks’ to identify young males for decades. Hence, the name HaidaBucks. Three of the four owners played on a basketball team of the same name some years ago, and decided to use HaidaBucks as the name for their small coffee-house/restaurant. Notes co-owner, ‘for us, it’s about pride in our heritage. We are young men of the Haida Nation – Haida Bucks. We have a legal right to use the name and we will continue to do so.’

Starbucks sent the owners a cease and desist letter in March, 2003. HaidaBucks believed the letter to be spurious and ignored it. When the law firm threatened a suit, Joseph Arvay of Arvay Finlay agreed to represent the small caf�. (Arvay is intimately familiar with the Haida Nation; he is representing them in their landmark land claim case.) In April, the two sides exchanged letters. Starbucks offered to let HaidaBucks wait until the end of the year to change their name. The young Natives refused, countering that they would keep their name and wanted Starbucks to admit it was not a trademark infringement to do so.

A full two months after HaidaBucks’ letter, Starbucks sent HaidaBucks a letter that seemed to claim victory, but that claim appears to be premature. In the letter, Starbucks asserted that the small shop had changed its logo, its name and its signage. The letter also claims that HaidaBucks has agreed not to move or expand its business outside of Haida Gwaii, the island on which the restaurant is currently located.

The owners of HaidaBucks vehemently deny making any such changes or agreements. Willis Parnell, another co-owner of HaidaBucks said ‘Starbucks didn’t do enough research. Our name hasn’t changed; our graphics haven’t changed. And they’re not going to.’

Contrary to what you say in that letter, our client has not made any changes to its name and/or logo. Nor has it made any changes to the signage or name of its restaurant. It has not adopted a new logo. Our client continues to use the word HaidaBucks. Furthermore, our client has made no representations with respect to any constraints on expansion of its business outside of Haida Gwaii, nor will it agree to any such constraints on its business. Our position with respect to Starbucks’ allegations of trademark violation remains as set forth in our letter of April 28, 2003 – i.e. that Starbucks’ allegation was and is ill-conceived and has no chance of success.

It has come to our attention through emails from “Customer Relations”, info@starbucks.com, forwarded to us from Starbucks customers, that your client is advising members of the public that “Starbucks Coffee Company and Haida Bucks Caf� have recently resolved their trademark dispute” and that “In response to a letter sent by Starbucks in March, 2003, Haida Bucks Caf� has made several important changes to its name and logo that address many of Starbucks initial infringement concerns.” As noted above, this statement is completely untrue. Moreover, it is materially misleading to customers who are legitimately concerned with Starbucks’ action against our client.

Hey Michael:

You have lied to me. HaidaBucks hasn’t made any changes, and you know it. Their lawyer has sent you a letter saying so.

What the hell is this game you’re playing? How much worse do you intend to make this for yourselves?