A cafe in Brooklyn, New York is suing Starbucks for trademark infringement over the idea of the Unicorn Frapuccino. The sugary pink and blue drink resembles The End Brooklyn’s “Unicorn Latte,” which they began selling December last year, according to the federal suit they filed.
ABC News reports that the court documents accuse Starbucks of causing “irreparable injury” to the cafe by “aggressively marketing” the Unicorn Frappuccino. People even started thinking the cafe was trying to sell a knock-off of Starbuck’s limited edition drink.
Starbucks’ response? They say the claims are totally without merit. To their point, the “Unicorn Latte” and “Unicorn Frappuccino” only resemble each other in color and whipped topping—and nothing else. The End Brooklyn actually advertises their drink as healthy, without any processed sugar or cow’s milk. The syrups, candy powders and other mystery flavors in the Unicorn Frappuccino clearly distinguish it from The End’s latte.
While it’s unclear who came up with the idea first, The End Brooklyn’s attorney told ABC that he filed the suit to “protect a local business from having its valuable intellectual property taken by a global corporation.” There’s no way to compare the two now, since the Unicorn Frappuccino is no longer sold at Starbucks.