Latest News From HaidaBucks

Note to visitors to lanebaldwin.com -- The following press releases were also prepared by Lane Baldwin and his team. At least three were quoted to a great degree in articles by the Associated Press, the Toronto Mail & Globe and other newspapers, web sites and magazines, as well as providing the foundation for radio and television reports.

HadiaBucks Press Release 082803

Lately, the coffee in Masset, a small town on the remote island of Haida Gwaii, tastes especially sweet. That's because HaidaBucks, a small indigenous-owned coffee house and restaurant located there, is savouring its victory over Starbucks and its claims of trademark infringement.

In true David-vs.-Goliath fashion, HaidaBucks stared down a multi-billion-dollar global enterprise. "We won," said co-owner Darin Swanson. "We did more than defend our name; we defended our honour as indigenous peoples, and our right to our heritage."

It began when Starbucks alleged that the small, struggling business was violating Starbucks' trademark rights. Threatened with legal action if they did not change their name or logo, HaidaBucks did not back down.

Instead, the bucks enlisted the help of a Victoria law firm Arvay Finlay, and launched a massive web-based campaign with the help of West Virginia, USA businessman Lane Baldwin. Now, after months of legal wrangling and a swell of public support for HaidaBucks, it appears that Starbucks is the one that backed down.

HaidaBucks has recently received a letter from StarBucks which concludes "Starbucks considers this matter closed". And with that, HaidaBucks' triumph is complete.

Parnell was obviously pleased with the outcome. "We have many friends to thank for their help in this victory," he said. "The Haida people have always fiercely defended themselves; we have a strong warrior tradition," said Parnell. "But, sometimes, you need friends to stand with you."

"We have a lot of people to thank for our victory," said Swanson. "Our legal team was fantastic, and Lane's web site was a true gift. There are also all the people who stood with us, and we are very, very thankful for each of them."

Joseph Arvay, one of the lawyers acting for HaidaBucks, was also pleased with the outcome. "Starbucks has underestimated these proud young Haida men. Far from rolling over at Starbucks' command, they stood their ground, refusing to make any changes to their name or logo, and rightly so. They stared down the bully and the bully blinked."

HaidaBucks Press Release 070803

For Starbucks executives and lawyers, it may have been simple: force HaidaBucks, a small, under-funded business in a tiny Canadian village on a remote island, to change its name. Unfortunately for Starbucks, it has turned into a "David vs. Goliath" legal and PR nightmare that won't go away, with thousands of people across Canada and the US boycotting the company because of its tactics.

HaidaBucks, in the village of Masset, is owned by three Haida men and one man married to a Haida woman. The First Nation has used the term "bucks" to identify young males for decades. Hence, the name HaidaBucks. Three of the four owners played on a basketball team of the same name some years ago, and decided to use HaidaBucks as the name for their small coffee-house/restaurant. Notes co-owner, "for us, it's about pride in our heritage. We are young men of the Haida Nation - Haida Bucks. We have a legal right to use the name and we will continue to do so."

Starbucks sent the owners a cease and desist letter in March, 2003. HaidaBucks believed the letter to be spurious and ignored it. When the law firm threatened a suit, Joseph Arvay of Arvay Finlay agreed to represent the small café. (Arvay is intimately familiar with the Haida Nation; he is representing them in their landmark land claim case.) In April, the two sides exchanged letters. Starbucks offered to let HaidaBucks wait until the end of the year to change their name. The young Natives refused, countering that they would keep their name and wanted Starbucks to admit it was not a trademark infringement to do so.

A full two months after HaidaBucks' letter, Starbucks sent HaidaBucks a letter that seemed to claim victory, but that claim appears to be premature. In the letter, Starbucks asserted that the small shop had changed its logo, its name and its signage. The letter also claims that HaidaBucks has agreed not to move or expand its business outside of Haida Gwaii, the island on which the restaurant is currently located.

The owners of HaidaBucks vehemently deny making any such changes or agreements. Willis Parnell, another co-owner of HaidaBucks said "Starbucks didn't do enough research. Our name hasn't changed; our graphics haven't changed. And they're not going to."

Recently, perhaps in an attempt to stem the tide of negative publicity, Starbucks' has responded to customers who express their concern with Starbucks' actions by claiming that a settlement has been reached and that HaidaBucks has "made several important changes to its name and logo that address many of Starbucks initial infringement concerns." Word has already spread throughout North America and parts of Europe that their claim is misleading, and it has only fueled the fire even more. "Starbucks wants to push this under the rug, but we're not going to let them do it," said Swanson. "We aren't giving up our name for anyone. We're going to keep spreading the word about Starbucks' harassment until they formally agree to our right to our name."

HaidaBucks was founded in May, 1999, by four members of the Haida Nation. Located in the village of Masset (on Haida Gwaii in the Queen Charlotte Islands off the North coast of British Columbia), the café serves salads, soups, and a variety of sandwiches and subs in addition to its line of hot and cold beverages.

To read Starbucks' letter and HaidaBucks' response, click here.

HaidaBucks Continues Its Defense Against Starbucks®

The support for HaidaBucks, a small, indigenous-owned café on Haida Gwaii, continued to mount in the second week following news reports that it was being sued by Starbucks® for trademark infringement.

HaidaBucks has secured the services of noted counselor Joseph Arvay, of Arvay and Finlay, Barristers, to represent them. This is not the first time Mr. Arvay has worked with Canada's indigenous peoples. He represented Delgamuukw before the Supreme Court of Canada and is now counsel for the Haida Nation in their aboriginal title claim.

In the past week, Starbucks has attempted to settle the matter quickly, perhaps due to the strong outpouring of support HaidaBucks has received. This past week, they offered to give the small café until the end of the year to change its name, and to "reimburse HaidaBucks for some portion of the reasonable costs associated with changing its trademark."

Darin Swanson, co-owner of HaidaBucks stated that they will not comply. "We've been using the term "bucks" in our Nation for far longer than Starbucks has," said Swanson. "I played on a Massett basketball team with that name. We use the term "bucks" to refer to young men. They're not just telling us to change our name, they're telling us to give up our pride in ourselves and our heritage."

HaidaBucks also points out that their logo was created by world-renowned Native artist Jim Hart of Old Masset. "From the very beginning," said Swanson, "this has been about pride in ourselves and our Nation. We are Haida bucks; it only makes sense that we named our business after ourselves."

Swanson also noted that the HaidaBucks web site - www.haidabuckscafe.com - received slightly more than 40,000 visitors in the week ending Friday, May 2, 2003. "We're now approaching the 100,000 visitor mark," said Swanson. "We hope to pass that this week, and reach 150,000 in the first full month of operations." He also added that they are updating the site weekly to keep supporters informed of the latest activity.

HaidaBucks was founded in May, 1999, by three members of the Haida Nation and one non-Haida with a Haida family. Located in the village of Masset (on Haida Gwaii in the Queen Charlotte Islands off the North coast of British Columbia), the café serves salads, soups, and a variety of sandwiches and subs in addition to its line of hot and cold beverages.

New T-shirt and Mug Designs

Black T-shirts and Stainless Steel Travel Mugs are being added to the line of merchandise available. This is addition to the original white T-shirts and ceramic mugs currently on sale. Go to the Order page for further information.

From the Webmaster, April 28, 2003
Just a quick note to thank the many thousands (over thirty thousand as of April, 27, 2003) of supporters who have visited this site, and written to Starbucks® in protest of their actions. Many have written that they've sent information to friends to help spread the word. (One person copied me on an email sent to more than 100 addresses!) Everyone at HaidaBucks Cafe is deeply appreciative for everyone's efforts. The outpouring of support has been a tremendous comfort during this difficult time. LB

HaidaBucks Prepares To Defend
Against Starbucks®

HaidaBucks, a small, indigenous-owned café on Haida Gwaii received an outpouring of support in the week following news reports that it was being sued by Starbucks® for trademark infringement. Initial concerns about the cost of mounting a legal challenge were put to rest when thousands of people called and emailed to offer help and donations for a legal defense fund. Among the first callers was prominent barrister Joseph Arvay of Arvay and Finlay Barristers.

This is not the first time Mr. Arvay has worked with Canada's indigenous peoples. He represented Delgamuukw before the Supreme Court of Canada and is now counsel for the Haida Nation in their aboriginal title claim. CO-owner Darin Swanson is ecstatic about the shop's good fortune. "No one's better for this case than Joseph Arvay," Darin said. "He knows the law in this case extremely well, and knows the Haida people intimately. This is better than we ever hoped for."

HaidaBucks also announced their new web site - www.haidabuckscafe.com - created by someone they'd never met before making the news. What began as one of many calls to offer moral support quickly, turned into a discussion about a web site to call attention to the café's plight, Swanson said. "I'd never met the man on the other end of the phone, but two days later, he had a web site written, designed and published on the Internet for us. It's really helped spread the news. In the first five days, we received over twenty thousand visitors." Swanson added that they intend to update the site regularly to keep supporters informed of the latest activity.

The Article That Broke The News

Article - Vancouver Sun - HaidaBucks - FYI
Byline: Scott Simpson
Outlet: Vancouver Sun
Headline: Starbucks demands HaidaBucks change
Page: D1 / Front
Date: Wednesday 16 April 2003
Source: Vancouver Sun

A modest restaurant in remote Haida Gwaii is reeling under the threat of a major lawsuit after retail coffee giant Starbucks decided that the eatery's aboriginal-linked name poses a threat to its plan to dominate the international java market.

HaidaBucks Cafe in Masset, a Queen Charlottes village with a population of 700, was warned last month by a Vancouver law firm acting for Starbucks that it must change its name or wind up in court, and was advised Tuesday that a formal notice of litigation is in the mail.

A Starbucks representative in Seattle confirmed the corporation's actions, asserting that it seeks to "protect the public from confusion and deception."

HaidaBucks CO-owner Darin Swanson said Tuesday he's angry about the corporation's behavior, given its efforts to style its public image around social and environmental responsibility.

A letter to HaidaBucks from Vancouver law firm Bull, Housser and Tupper on behalf of Starbucks says the word Haida is acceptable but alleges that Bucks "results in a clear association with our client's trademark."

Swanson said the cafe's name is derived from the owners' heritage. "That was nice of them to let us use the word Haida," said Swanson, who along with one of the other owners is a member of the Haida First Nation. "Bucks refers to young men in the culture of First Nations. We're Haida bucks. Originally there were four Haida guys that owned the place, so we decided to call ourselves HaidaBucks. It has nothing to do with Starbucks.

"We're in our mid-30s. When we were younger, under 21, we had a local basketball team called the Bucks." Swanson said he cannot fathom how Starbucks would regard his cafe as a threat -- unless it's because the brand of coffee he serves his customers is Seattle's Best, a Starbucks rival.

Swanson said he's not comfortable with the idea of backing down in the face of the corporation's threats, but he's worried about the money that it could cost to hang on to it.

"The only reason I would change the name is that I couldn't afford to fight them. "We don't have money to stack up against those guys, that's for sure. We are going to have to be creative, maybe do some fund raising for a legal defense fund if it goes that far."

The cafe opened four years ago, and closes down in the winter when bitter weather slows business to a crawl. It averages about 60 to 70 customers a day and supports five full-time and two part-time employees. It has been closed since January and is scheduled to reopen by this weekend following some renovations by Swanson, who works full time as a local building contractor.

He said the cafe pays for itself, supports the employees, but makes no money for the owners. "I don't want to bow down to these guys. The word 'bucks' is theirs? They own that word? I don't think so, but that's basically what they're saying."

Starbucks derives its name from a character in the Herman Melville novel Moby Dick, which has long since passed into the public domain.

A March 4, 2003 letter from Bull, Housser and Tupper alleges that the name HaidaBucks is a violation of Canadian trademark laws and demands that the owners accede to Starbucks' wishes and change it within two weeks.

It says Starbucks' Canadian trademark registrations "give our client the exclusive right to prevent use of its trademark or a confusing trademark anywhere in Canada."

A Starbucks spokesperson in Seattle said the company has no choice but to "police" perceived violations of its trademark.

"On March 4, Starbucks Coffee Company sent a cease-and-desist letter to HaidaBucks requesting that it stop the use of a confusing variation of the Starbucks name and trademark," media relations program manager Lara Wyss said in a written statement.

"Trademark law does not permit us to be selective in protecting our rights; anytime there is infringement or dilution, we must 'police' our mark, regardless of the infringer's size. We actually risk damaging and possibly losing our trademark rights if we fail to do so.

"It is Starbucks preference and desire to resolve disputes of this nature informally and amicably whenever possible. However, we will take legal steps to protect the value of our trademark, and protect the public from confusion and deception, when we are unable to resolve a matter through alternate means."

The Seattle-based company's Web site is loaded with self-congratulatory news proclaiming Starbucks' success at becoming "an integral part of customers' everyday lives," its "support for local communities," and a "fair trade" program that purports to raise the quality of life for the Third World farmers who grow its beans.

"As a global company and leader of the specialty coffee industry, it is our responsibility to conduct our business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits to the communities where we operate," Starbucks president/CEO Orin Smith said in a March 25, 2003 release. "We have a continued commitment to fulfilll this mission while maintaining our
fiscal goals."

We deeply appreciate the help and encouragement we've received from friends around the world.
Many thanks to the following organizations for providing their generous support to our cause:

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