MADRID (Reuters) – Sicilian coffee roaster Zicaffe has asked the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIOP) to block the fashion giant Inditex (BME:) is using the name Zacaffe for its new coffee shops, arguing that the name is too similar to its own brand.
Family-owned Zicaffe, which roasts and exports coffee blends, filed a response to the Spanish fashion chain’s patent application on December 25, according to official records published on the EUIOP website seen by Reuters.
Zicaffe said the “zis” and “pros” are too close and there is a potential for confusion, unfair advantage and damage to the distinctiveness of his own brand.
Inditex did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Vito Zichitella, one of Zicaffe’s owners and the grandson of its founder.
Inditex has opened its first Zacaffe coffee shop in the new Zara Man store in Madrid as part of a wider strategy to offer new shopping experiences to boost sales.
The world’s largest fast fashion retailer filed a patent application for the Zacaffe brand on October 7, and people and companies opposed to it have until January 10 to respond. The EUIOP registration process takes several weeks and includes the possibility of filing an appeal.
Zacaffe opened in Madrid after Inditex tested coffee zones in stores early last year, particularly in Paris and Lisbon, where it sells traditional Portuguese pastries Pasteis de Nata.
Inditex coffee shops will have a separate entrance and be tailored to their location, the company said as it unveiled the plan on its website.
Besides Zara, Inditex owns other brands such as Bershka, Stradivarius and Massimo Dutti.
In its home region of Galicia, the company opened a new concept store, El Apartamento, with space for a café.