SANTA CRUZ– Santa Cruz coffee shop Cat & Cloud is under pressure from construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. to remove Cat & Cloud’s trademark from apparel and footwear.
Co-owners Jared Truby and Chris Baca opened Cat & Cloud in 2016. The coffee shop sells coffee and other drinks, shirts, hats, water bottles, mugs and other merchandise. It has shops in Santa Cruz, Portola, and one opening soon in Aptos.
“To assume any company can own the word “Cat” seems ludicrous,” Truby said in a prepared statement. “Their trademark seems to be specifically the CAT with a yellow triangle under the ‘A’ which we have never put on any clothing. Our Class 25 trademark is for ‘Cat & Cloud’ which we have printed, rightfully. We are just feeling bullied and tired.” The third Cat & Cloud cafe is opening in Aptos in the next two weeks, and the fight with Caterpillar is bad timing because it is draining and distracting, he said.
The Cat & Cloud trademark is classified as an International Class 25, which includes clothing and footwear, according to the Petition for Cancellation. Cat & Cloud owns its trademark, a cat dressed in a hat and T-shirt, accompanied by a lightning cloud. Caterpillar Inc. claims that Cat & Cloud’s trademark resembles Caterpillar Inc.’s trademark to the point that it could cause consumers confusion and could dilute the distinctiveness of Caterpillar’s famous CAT trademark, according to the petition.
“The morale is great as usual for our team,” Truby said. “The morale for us owners is fairly great as well considering. “The biggest impact we fear is all the lawyer fees to defend ourselves. We are funded by SBA loans and independently, with the cafe opening, we are extra tight.”
“Caterpillar serves customers around the world, many of whom earn their livelihood with one or two machines and often a good pair of work boots,” Caterpillar spokeswoman Bridget Young said in a prepared statement. “We value all of them and strive to provide exceptional products and services. This means we have a responsibility to protect and maintain the brand they love and rely on every day – including our existing trademarks.”
“We are not suing Cat & Cloud, not targeting a small business and not focused on Cat & Cloud’s primary interest: coffee,” Young said in the prepared statement. “We’ve simply asked the U.S. Trademark Office to remove Cat & Cloud’s trademark registration on footwear and apparel only, products for which Caterpillar has longstanding trademarks and a considerable business. We hope to resolve this issue quickly.”
Caterpillar Inc.’s 2019 first quarter sales and revenues amounted to $13.5 billion. The company has a portfolio of approximately 20 brands offering machines, engines, services and more, according to the Caterpillar website. Cat is the flagship brand of products and services. Its 2017 revenues exceeded $45 billion, according to the petition.
Caterpillar Inc. hasn’t filed any opposition or cancellation of the Target Brands’ trademark for Cat & Jack or Dr. Seuss Enterprises for Cat in the Hat, according to the Answer to Petition for Cancellation. Caterpillar Inc. has also requested 10 other companies cancel their trademarks, listed in the Answer to Petition.
One person started a petition to urge Caterpillar Inc. to stop bullying and lift its actions against small businesses. The petition has nearly 15,600 signatures.
Nicole Junod, team leader at the downtown Santa Cruz Cat & Cloud, said the trademark dispute has cost $10,000-$20,000 in fees. She added that the community has been very supportive and is coming in to buy more drinks and products and is supporting employees.
Michael Foy, who designs some of the merchandise for Cat & Cloud, also sees the backing of the community.
“I’m optimistic, the support we’re getting is absolutely insane,” he said. “It feels like all the energy we put into making people happy is coming back to us.”
Truby said after encouragement from the general public, Cat & Cloud will launch a GoFundMe fundraiser Wednesday to cover lawyer fees . He said Cat & Cloud doesn’t know what to expect from the conflict besides lawyer fees, but it hopes the media push will help Caterpillar Inc. see Cat & Cloud isn’t conflicting and both companies can be successful without further action on the cancellation of its trademark.
