Eat Your Words

We discussed in class how restaurant names can prompt tricky trademark issues. There's so many of them, and who is to say that Joe McDonald can't name a burger joint after himself (answer: the megabucks behind the McDonald's chain)? Anyway, in the news is a story about Tavern on the Green, a restaurant that has become a New York City landmark and is located in Central Park. It's currently in bankruptcy court with more than 400 creditors waiting on cash. In the meanwhile, a new licensee has leased the Tavern in the park, but can't use the famous name "Tavern on the Green" until the court (now a federal court) decides who the owner is, and also, how much the name is worth. Current value assigned: $18 million. Now that's a nice dinner.