Story of a Small man business struggle to survive attack from BIG corporate Douchebag's at Specialized, or what is in the name of Roubaix a small French Village that bike industry wants it so bad that they are willing to sue a small coffee shop!
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Update: It looks like Specialized has worked out a deal to let war vet Dan Richter keep the name of Cafe Roubaix Bicycle Studio. Richter just posted this to his Facebook page:
“I had a great conversation with (Specialized founder and chairman) Mike Sinyard today, and I am happy to let everyone know that things will be working out fine.
“We thank you for your continued support. You have all been so very awesome to us!”
Here’s the story written earlier today.
Dan Richter, the war vet who was on the verge of giving up the name of his Cafe Roubaix Bicycle Studio in Cochrane after a lawsuit threat from U.S. bike giantSpecialized, looks to have won the battle.
Richter announced on his company Facebook page Monday night that he is back in discussions over the disputed use of the word Roubaix, a sign that he will be able to keep the name of his tiny store.
“We can announce that your voices have been heard,” he wrote. “We are now back in discussions with the other party. We are aware of recent announcements by third parties within the industry.”
Richter was referring to to a story by Stephen Frothingham in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, in which Advanced Sports International, which owns the trademark on the word Roubaix and leases it to Specialized in the U.S., announced that it will give Richter permission to keep the name for his Alberta store and brand of wheels. In essence, ASI told Specialized to back off and let Richter use the word.
“We have reached out to Mr. Richter to inform him that he can continue to use the name, and we will need to license his use, which we imagine can be done easily,” Pat Cunnane, the CEO of ASI, told Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
It isn’t a done deal yet, but it’s a positive sign for the thousands of people who expressed support for Richter since I first wrote about the issue on Saturday.
The details of the deal speak to the complicated nature of trademarks in our globalized world. ASI first registered the word Roubaix as a trademark in the U.S., hoping to cash in on the storied history of the gruelling Paris-Roubaix bike race, (the same thing that attracted Richter). ASI markets a bike named Roubaix under its Fuji brand.
For the past decade, ASI has leased the name to Specialized for its own Roubaix road bike. Specialized, however, registered the word as a trademark in Canada, leading the company’s lawyers to contact Richter and threaten him with a lawsuit if he didn’t remove the word from his store.
Cunnane, however, told Bicycle Retailer and Industry News that goes against the terms of its deal with Specialized.
“We are in the process of notifying Specialized that they did not have the authority, as part of our license agreement, to stop Daniel Richter … from using the Roubaix name,” Cunnane said.
Cunnane’s futher comments mirrored the sentiment that exploded on social mediasince the story started circulating. Cunnane says he doesn’t think sharing the name with Richter will confuse consumers.
Specialized still has not commented, other than its original email to me in which it said it was simply defending its trademark when it moved to stop Richter’s use of Roubaix.
ASI, Specialized and Richter will no doubt have to hash out an arrangement, but after the huge global response to Richter’s story, this is no doubt a positive sign for those who support the veteran of the Afghan war.
Richter thanked the thousands of people who voiced support for him over the past few days.
“We have received over 3500 emails, hundreds of phone calls and messages, how many #s and @s? Tweets? Do numbers go that high?” he wrote. “Our little studio is just barely 900 sqft and cycling fans, cyclists, Velomintus, industry leaders & big shots, pro riders, and icons have all made their voice heard. Thank you.”
Original article by Calgary Herald here:
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