Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

You’re going down, Phoenix Lucha Libre

San Diego restaurant claims copyright infringement

San Diego's Lucha Libre
San Diego's Lucha Libre

In this corner, hailing from San Diego, adorned in hot pink, black, and light blue, we have Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop.

And in this corner, hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, also wearing hot pink, black, and light blue, we present to you...Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop...

Sponsored
Sponsored

On June 24, owners of the popular Lucha Libre Mexican restaurant, with locations at the foot of Mission Hills and at Petco Park, filed a lawsuit in federal court against a Phoenix restaurant for copyright and trademark infringement. The suit claims the Arizona restaurant ripped off nearly every aspect of the restaurant: the name, the colors, the wrestling motif, all the way down to the distinctive "French Rococo style infused with Mexican wrestling–themed decor and epicurean cuisine, a combination of which is not typically associated with a taco shop."

The lawsuit alleges the doppelgänging diner infringed on their trademark and copyright, leaving diners confused as to whether the restaurants are the same. According to the complaint, the parent company of San Diego's restaurant, 3 Ratones Ciegos, trademarked and obtained a copyright of the name in March of this year.

Santos Lucha Libre in Phoenix

"There have been several instances of actual confusion between Plaintiff’s Restaurant and Defendants’ Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop. On or about March 2014, diners at Plaintiff’s Restaurant were overheard by an employee of Plaintiff discussing the ‘new’ Lucha Libre Gourmet location in Phoenix, Arizona.

"On a second occasion on or about March 2014, a diner leaving Plaintiff’s restaurant congratulated one of Plaintiff’s employees on the Plaintiff’s ‘new location’ in Arizona. Furthermore, a Facebook user posted a comment on Plaintiff’s Facebook Page stating that a new restaurant had opened in Phoenix by the name Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop, noting that the color scheme was the same as Plaintiff’s Restaurant and asking if there was any relation."

On April 16, attorneys for the San Diego–based company threatened legal action and demanded that the owners of the Phoenix restaurant stop using the name and trademark.

"Consumer confusion is damaging to our client, because a potential consumer of our client’s restaurant may confuse Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop with the Lucha Libre marks. If a consumer has a negative experience with your restaurant or if there is negative press regarding your restaurant, consumers might associate your mark with our client’s mark or believe that it is somehow affiliated or sponsored by our client."

In response, an attorney for Santos Lucha Libre said his clients refused to change the name or the decor.

A hearing date has not been set.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
San Diego's Lucha Libre
San Diego's Lucha Libre

In this corner, hailing from San Diego, adorned in hot pink, black, and light blue, we have Lucha Libre Gourmet Taco Shop.

And in this corner, hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, also wearing hot pink, black, and light blue, we present to you...Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop...

Sponsored
Sponsored

On June 24, owners of the popular Lucha Libre Mexican restaurant, with locations at the foot of Mission Hills and at Petco Park, filed a lawsuit in federal court against a Phoenix restaurant for copyright and trademark infringement. The suit claims the Arizona restaurant ripped off nearly every aspect of the restaurant: the name, the colors, the wrestling motif, all the way down to the distinctive "French Rococo style infused with Mexican wrestling–themed decor and epicurean cuisine, a combination of which is not typically associated with a taco shop."

The lawsuit alleges the doppelgänging diner infringed on their trademark and copyright, leaving diners confused as to whether the restaurants are the same. According to the complaint, the parent company of San Diego's restaurant, 3 Ratones Ciegos, trademarked and obtained a copyright of the name in March of this year.

Santos Lucha Libre in Phoenix

"There have been several instances of actual confusion between Plaintiff’s Restaurant and Defendants’ Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop. On or about March 2014, diners at Plaintiff’s Restaurant were overheard by an employee of Plaintiff discussing the ‘new’ Lucha Libre Gourmet location in Phoenix, Arizona.

"On a second occasion on or about March 2014, a diner leaving Plaintiff’s restaurant congratulated one of Plaintiff’s employees on the Plaintiff’s ‘new location’ in Arizona. Furthermore, a Facebook user posted a comment on Plaintiff’s Facebook Page stating that a new restaurant had opened in Phoenix by the name Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop, noting that the color scheme was the same as Plaintiff’s Restaurant and asking if there was any relation."

On April 16, attorneys for the San Diego–based company threatened legal action and demanded that the owners of the Phoenix restaurant stop using the name and trademark.

"Consumer confusion is damaging to our client, because a potential consumer of our client’s restaurant may confuse Santos Lucha Libre Taco Shop with the Lucha Libre marks. If a consumer has a negative experience with your restaurant or if there is negative press regarding your restaurant, consumers might associate your mark with our client’s mark or believe that it is somehow affiliated or sponsored by our client."

In response, an attorney for Santos Lucha Libre said his clients refused to change the name or the decor.

A hearing date has not been set.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.