By Tim Binnall
The owner of the Lizzie Borden House in Massachusetts is unhappy with a newly opened 'haunted' coffee shop that, he contends, is infringing on his company's intellectual property. The odd dispute reportedly began earlier this summer when Joe Pereira opened the doors to Miss Lizzie's Coffee in the city of Fall River. Boasting a Lizzie Borden theme, the new business is located a short distance from the notorious home which infamously served as the setting for a grisly double ax murder in 1892. As one might imagine, the arrival of the coffee shop did not go unnoticed by the owner of the 'murder house,' Lance Zaal, who has taken issue with Pereira's new venture.
"They're clearly drawing an association with Lizzie Borden and being right next to the house," he lamented, going on to observe that "if I went down to Orlando or Anaheim and opened a place that was 'Mr. Mickey's Milkshakes,' that would be a problem." To that end, Zaal noted that his company possesses the trademark for 'Lizzie Borden,' which they use on an array of merchandise as well as for the house, itself, which is both a museum and a hotel. Since the business does not own the rights to the name 'Lizzie,' it would seem that Pereira's coffee shop does not exactly infringe on their intellectual property, though Zaal begs to differ.
"It's important that if you open up next to a big landmark, that you be a good neighbor and you respect their trademarks," he declared, "and you don't use a name that's very similar to theirs." For his part, Pereira asserts that he has done nothing wrong by opening the nearby coffee shop and opined that that Lizzie Borden is a "historical figure." Indicating that he was only aware of Zaal's misgivings after he went to the media to cry foul over the perceived marketplace confusion, Pereira was particularly complimentary of the 'murder house' employees who are actually regular customers at his establishment, though that may change in light of the discord between the two business owners.
Meanwhile, Pereira also suggested that the Lizzie Borden House is not entirely blameless when it comes to exercising a bit of proverbial paranormal poetic license. He explained that the attraction makes mention of a grisly killing that occurred on the sizeable Borden property around 50 years before the legendary double axe murder of 1892. However, that incident actually unfolded on the very spot that is now Miss Lizzie's Coffee. As such, Pereira posited that the Lizzie Borden House is "stealing ghosts" from his business, which he bills as "the most haunted coffee shop in the world." For now, Zaal appears content to merely air his grievances in the media rather than pursue the matter in court, though the issue could ultimately turn into a legal battle as it grows increasingly contentious.