A Wren Says

“We thought the word crunch was distinctive enough.” Famous last words. After enduring the onslaught internet ire, David Chang and Momofuku have walked back their trademark enforcement campaign. The brand had been on mission to seemingly stamp out anyone’s use of the term “chili crunch,” even though they hold the trademark to “chile crunch.” People interpreted the action as bullying small business, more specifically targeting small Asian-led brands and stripping them of their ability to make a condiment central to their culture. David Chang got on his podcast and said that they thought it was fine to use chili crunch, they were legally obligated to enforce their trademark, but they won’t do it anymore. Just know that someone else bigger will come along and take it later. It felt more like the whine of a sore loser than a genuine apology, but that is for another day’s discussion.

The question is where should they go from here. They might still pursue a trademark, but make it more distinctive and include Momofuku. “Momofuku Chili Crunch.” Or maybe they will focus on the Momofuku brand for distinction. Or maybe when the dust settles, they’ll will jump back out there with cease and desist letters. I don’t know, but it was a nice case study to think about other issues with trademarks.