Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Claim: Company Rejected As ‘Best Coffee In America', Denied By Patent Office (VIDEO)

Nov 27, 2012 03:07 PM EST | Matt Mercuro

Dunkin' Donuts attempted to patent their coffee as the "best coffee in America" only to be denied by the US Patent Office on Tuesday as first reported by the Inquisitr.

"It is well established that a mark that consists of the generic name of a food that is the specialty of the house or a principal attraction of the restaurant has been held merely descriptive of restaurant services," the office explained when discuss the decision.

The Patent Office stated that the rejection was determined based on the fact that their "best coffee in America" claim is merely a slogan at this point in time. The company didn't offer any form of valid proof that they legitimately have the best coffee in America over other competitors like Starbucks.

"As a company with a more than 60-year heritage that is proud to be an American icon, Dunkin' Donuts sells more than 1.5 billion cups of hot and iced coffee globally every year. We are simply going through the trademark process," Jessica E. Gioglio, a Dunkin' Donuts spokeswoman, said to Softpedia

Dunkin' Donuts can't be happy with the news and it is not known yet whether or not they plan on appealing the ruling to plead their case to a higher court.

According to the company's website, Dunkin' Donuts claims to sell 1.5 billion cups of coffee yearly around the world. The coffee sales could be attributed to the small amount of coffee competitors that Dunkin' Donuts has to go up against every year and a drastically larger ad campaign compared to Starbucks and Folgers.

"Anyone at all can claim that their coffee is the 'Best Coffee in America.' No one takes such a claim literally, and no one company can monopolize the phrase," explained trademark attorney, Zick Rubin in a press statement.

This would probably explain why even local diners can claim to have the "best coffee" since it has become more of a matter of opinion then fact. The movie "Elf" starring Will Farrell famously makes fun of this fact when he explores New York City for the first time and finds a restaurant claiming to have the "world's best cup of coffee." He then proceeds to loudly congratulate the restaurant for the accomplishment.

The company has currently been planning on expanding their European market, where there have 91 Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins outlets.

What do you think? Does Dunkin' Donuts coffee have a legitimate claim to the "best coffee in America" or should they just move on?

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