In the U.S. last week, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. filed two trademark infringement lawsuits against a group of Georgia-based stores called 7-SEVEN.
7-Eleven is requesting destruction of the 7-SEVEN store signage, along with prevention of the use of the 7-SEVEN name, the use of the numbers seven and 11, and the color combination of red, green, orange, and white in the store’s logos.
The owner of the 7-SEVEN stores admitted to The Telegraph that his stores’ logo was similar to that of 7-Eleven, and added that “anybody can tell” the difference between the two. Here’s a photo of one of the 7-SEVEN locations from Google Maps:
Here’s the 7-Eleven logo — do you see a likelihood of confusion?
Interestingly, 7-Eleven’s biggest market is Japan. There are more than twice as many 7-Eleven outlets in Japan (15,000) than in the United States (7,600). The stores’ name started as Tote’m Stores (as in “tote away your purchase”) in 1927 and was changed in 1946 to 7-Eleven to reflect the store’s hours of operation … not what some consider “lucky” gambling numbers. 7-Eleven, Inc. owns several trademarks, including those for its signature Slurpee and Big Gulp beverages.
