Sub Shop Enforces STEAK BOMB Trademark
The steak bomb -- an artery-clogging mess of shaved steak, melted cheese and other fixings -- is well known to New England sandwich shop patrons. It's apparently not so well known to the USPTO, however, as Derry, New Hampshire, sub shop USA Subs recently managed to secure a federal registration for STEAK BOMB for "sandwiches." And now it's enforcing that mark, sending a cease-and-desist letter to a local competitor in an attempt to keep it from claiming itself as the "home of the steak bomb." The mark owner hasn't yet decided if it will send out similar letters to the hundreds of other shops -- including D'Angelo -- selling the steak bomb.Edited to add: In the interest of full disclosure, we now represent Great America Subs in this matter.
posted by Matthew Saunders @ 8:08 PM
8 Comments:
The Steak Bomb was previously trademarked by a gentleman in Florida for a number of years. I would rather a New England company own the mark as opposed to a Florida company. Great America Subs mailed out printed advertisements claiming to be the "Home of the World Famous Steak Bomb" even though they didn't invent the sandwich. What gives Great America Subs the right to claim they are "Home of the World Famous Steak Bomb" and in an Eagle Tribune article the owner of Great America Subs says the dispute with USA Subs can be resolved if THE TWO SANDWICH SHOPS ARE CO-OWNERS OF THE MARK!!!! The owner of Great America Subs is a hypocrite and wants to own the trademark as well!!! PATHETIC!!!
Every sub shop in Massachusetts that sells Roast beef sandwiches claims to be Home of the famous Roast Beef, Kelly's, Nick's, it's just a way to advertise your product. What USA Subs did was not only trademark a common term but proceeded to enforce their trademark, which is ludicrous. We live in America every subshop should be able to sell common sandwiches like Steak Bombs. If USA Subs made a better steak bomb than their competitor then they wouldn't be afraid of a little competition. I think what the owner of Great America Subs was trying to say in the interview is everyone should own the trademark, it's a New England Tradition. Besides, this just shows you why USA SUBS has had 4 stores and only 1 remains in business today. A franchise with a 25% success rate isn't very appealing to anyone.
I work at Home Depot and we honor all competitors coupons, it's part of being in retail. Great America is just across the street and sells the best Steak Bombs around. Their menu hasn't changed in years, they've always advertised Home of the Steak Bomb, if USA Subs had a problem with it they should have done something about it years ago, Great America Subs has been there for over 9 years. It's kind of sad because ultimately I think this squashes any chance USA Subs had of becoming a franchise. It's posted all over the internet, to boycott USA Subs, and no one looking to own a franchise will want to associate themselves with owners that could jeopardize such a large investment by making such foolish decisions.
If I read the article correctly, didn't USA Subs use to be in Londonderry?? The owner of USA Subs sold the equipment to Great America Subs, and now wants to prevent Great America from selling Steak Bombs? It seems like a classic case of jealousy, maybe USA Subs should do it the old fashion way, and start making a better Steak Bomb and they wouldn't have to worry about what other sub shops are doing. I've never been to either shop but I'm sure USA Subs is regretting this disastrous decision. I first heard about this story when the DJ's on ROCK 101 in Manchester were making fun of the owner of USA SUBS, calling him a jackass.
I just saw this on You-Tube and couldn't believe it, everyone sells Steak Bombs. I live in Derry and had never heard of Great American Subs. The owner of Great America looks hot on TV, I think me and my girlfriends just found another subshop to eat at.
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What a great story!! Go to www.steakbomb.com and support Great America Subs in their quest to take the STEAK BOMB back to its rightful owner - NEW ENGLAND!!!
This poor owner of USA Subs. Was he trying to sabotage his own franchise before it got going? I mean no owner could possibly be so stupid. Did he really think trademarking STEAK BOMB and sending out "cease and desist" letters wasn't going to create the publicity nightmare that it has.
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