Earthbound legal squabble leaves Duvall cafe moonstruck

DUVALL — A sign taped to the door of Moonray Espresso reads, "New weekday closing time: 3 p.m."

That's part of the story. To hear more, step inside the Duvall cafe, grab a seat at a cherrywood table and listen to the people who come in.

They'll tell you why, in a town where farms dot the landscape and streets are named after people's grandfathers, they're rallying behind a cafe with free Wi-Fi that's become embroiled in a trademark dispute.

To them, it's simple. Duvall needs more central gathering places. Moonray provides one, with dark wood floors, sleek sofas and funky paintings. Customers surf the Web while a barista brews up gourmet grounds.

But now owners say its future is uncertain.

In January, Portland-based Moonstruck Chocolate sued the coffee shop for trademark infringement. The lawsuit states the coffee shop's name and logo were created deliberately "for the purposes of profiting from and hijacking the goodwill of Moonstruck."

Moonstruck's logo features a crescent moon with a silhouette of a man playing the pan flute. In Moonray's logo, a woman sits on a crescent moon.

The chocolatier, which owns and operates nine cafes in California, Oregon and Illinois, is eyeing Seattle as a future site, said Delmar Fuhrman, president and CEO. He said the combination of Moonray's name, logo and products — Moonstruck Chocolate also sells coffee at its cafes — infringes on his company's trademark.

Mike Snow, 37, the shop's owner, said he was stunned when he got the papers.

"A nobody shop"

"We were like, 'Why are you doing this? We're a nobody shop 200 miles away from you,' " Snow said. "If Moonstruck insists on taking us to court, we'll probably have to close our doors."

So residents are circulating petitions, gathering donations and spreading the word through blogs. Bellevue alternative band AltSpeak performed at Moonray on Friday and will donate proceeds to the legal expenses.

Guitarist and singer Iggy Faus said the band did it "as a matter of principle" to support a small-business owner.

"Moonstruck is trying to drown the little guy," said Jim Couts, Duvall resident of nine years. "You can't sue somebody over the moon."

"We're a community in transition of loggers to bloggers," said Linda Lavallee, who has lived in Duvall for 22 years. "Places like Moonray keep our community alive."

Moonstruck officials say the lawsuit was necessary to safeguard the company's brand.

"You put your sweat equity, time and money into building a business and a brand. It's something you have to protect," Fuhrman said.

Ironically, it was Snow who first called Moonstruck's attention to his coffee shop in January 2006.

Before he opened, Snow searched the Internet for high-end chocolates, came across Moonstruck's Web site and ordered a box for a taste test, he said. He was so impressed with the quality, he said, he contacted the company about selling the chocolates in his store.

Snow exchanged e-mails with a contact there, and sent in an application to continue the process.

He never got permission to sell the chocolates, so he moved on, he said, opening Moonray Espresso on Main Street last July. Six months later, Moonstruck sued.

Fuhrman said this is the first trademark-infringement lawsuit Moonstruck has filed since he arrived there in May 2004.

Indeed, scores of other businesses — such as the Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle and Moonstruck Furniture in Florida — use "moon" in their names and moon designs in their logos. But the public is unlikely to mistake these goods and services with the chocolate company's, Fuhrman said.

Legal analysts say trademark tussles are held to one major standard.

"The question is, are people likely to be confused or not?" said Dan Laster, trademark-law expert and assistant professor at the University of Washington's School of Law.

Companies like Starbucks and Microsoft often make headlines for going after other companies for trademark infringement. Last year, a Shanghai court ruled in favor of Starbucks, which sued a local coffee shop for using the same name in Chinese.

"Companies have a reasonable obligation to police their marks," Laster said. "If you just sat on your rights, over time, your mark becomes weaker and weaker and potentially generic," he said.

But the challenges don't always succeed. Starbucks in January lost a trademark dispute in South Korea and failed in 2005 to stop a small New England roaster from selling a coffee blend called "Charbucks."

Snow said he can't afford to battle a national company in court or pay $15,000 to change the signs. He's already spent $400,000 to buy the space and $10,000 in legal fees over the trademark issue, he said.

What's next

A coffee enthusiast who lives in Snoqualmie, Snow said he saved for years to open his own shop and serve high-end products. To avoid going out of business, he said he's willing to change Moonray's name and logo. But he and his attorney want Moonstruck to pay for the cost and argue it would be cheaper than going to trial.

Furhman declined to comment on the request.

"We don't want to put the guy out of business. I think we can both get along in this world," he said.

Snow said he never expected the show of support from patrons, and it's made him even more determined to stay open.

He works full time at Microsoft. The four employees he hired to run Moonray left when he had to cut back their hours to save money on overhead.

His younger sister, Beth Larson, is fronting the shop without pay for now. She paints when business is slow and chats with customers as she prepares their drinks.

Nearly everyone who stops by lingers to talk to her about the suit or the new 3 p.m. weekday closing time.

Hours cut

The shop used to stay open until 10 p.m. weekdays, but hours were reduced to cover only the times that bring in the most business. (It remains open until 10 p.m. Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.)

"I've seen some people almost crying," Larson said. "They don't want to see us go."

Students from the National Honor Society at Cedarcrest High School are trying to gather volunteers to help, she said, and a group called Mothers of Duvall sent a letter and petitions with nearly 300 signatures to Moonstruck.

In the meantime, Snow is toying with the idea of dropping the letter "n" and changing the shop's name to Mooray. A cow would replace the angel on the logo, he said.

But, he conceded, "Mooray" doesn't have that special ring.

"It's kind of silly. I'm not totally sold on it," he said. "But it will make it cheaper to change the signs. And we kind of are out in the country."

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com