After a 7 months battle in court, Sol Kitchen (previously East Coast Soul Kitchen) has outsmarted the largest food franchise in the country.
Chicken Licken’s Trademark
Golden Fried Chicken (Pty) Ltd, which owns Chicken Licken, has a number of trademark registrations in the foodstuffs of the word “Soul”. Moreover , the trademarks include Soulslaw, Soul’d out, Soul doctor, Soul man, Soul mates, Soul fire and Soul food. The case goes back to July 2021. Chicken Licken’s attorney, informed the restaurant that by trading as “East Coast Soul Kitchen”, it had infringed the trademarks and demanded that it changes its name.
Sol Kitchen
After receiving a letter the restaurant accused Chicken Licken of malicious conduct and vexatious litigation. The restaurant said they would not desist as requested. The matter ended up in the high court, where the restaurant changed its name to “Sol Kitchen”.
It announced on its social media page: “On Monday, November 15, 2021, East Coast Soul Kitchen will become Sol Kitchen”. And that was just the kick to the face on Chicken Licken. Judge Patrick Gamble said that due to the name change the battle was effectively over. He also ordered the restaurant to remove remaining references to “East Coast Soul Kitchen” from its webpage and/or Facebook page within the week.
The Final Verdict
In line with the “soul” question, Judge Gamble said the case had many questions including whether the fast food giant’s outlets are known as “Soul Kitchen”? The Judge also questioned the origin of “Soul Food”. Moreover, the question of whether Chicken Licken has plans to expand its business into the preparation and sale of food described as soul food.
