News

That settles it: DQ allows competitor to continue selling Blizz

October 26, 2010

Craving a Dairy Queen Blizzard? How about a Yogubliz Blizz? Although they sound alike, they're "relatively dissimilar," according to a judge in the U.S. Central District Court of California.

In July, International Dairy Queen asked a California court to freeze sales of Yogubliz Inc.'s Blizz Frozen Yogurt, claiming its name is too similar to Dairy Queen's iconic treat.

On Monday, the case was dismissed. According to Reuters, settment terms were not disclosed, but they do allow the defendant, Yogubliz, to continue selling its Blizz and Blizzberry menu items.

Yogubliz has locations in Southern California and Las Vegas.

International Dairy Queen Inc. is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It has called the Blizzard its most popular menu item, bringing in more than $750 million in sales every year. The iconic treat celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.

In a statement released during the initial hearing, Dairy Queen claimed the name confusion has caused "irreparable harm and damage to the goodwill of Blizzard trademarks."

From the story:

"Today, Yogubliz is operating Blizz frozen yogurt shops. Tomorrow, it will be operating Blizz frozen yogurt shops," said Yogubliz lawyer Stephen Abraham. "Very well-reasoned minds on both sides of the controversy reached a conclusion that accomplishes what they wanted."