Runza National Inc. has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop two Texas men from using the name "Runza."
The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Lincoln, names Doug and David Alexander and their company, Texas Runza Kings LLC.
According to the suit, the Alexanders have been selling a sandwich nearly identical to Runza's signature sandwich and using the name Runza since last year, despite demands from the company to stop.
Runza says in the suit that the Alexanders incorporated Texas Runza Kings LLC in Texas in February 2019 and sought a federal trademark in April of that year for the Texas Runza Kings name. Runza said it appealed the trademark application in a timely fashion once it became aware of it.
Runza said it first received a state trademark for the word "Runza" in 1950, and it registered the word with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office in 1979.
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The lawsuit says the Alexanders' use of the term Runza "causes likelihood of confusion, deception, and mistake in the minds of consumers."
It appears the men have been selling their products mostly at farmers markets and at a Fraternal Order of Eagles location in Dallas.
As of Monday, Doug Alexander was still advertising Runzas for sale on his Facebook page. A post said he was selling them for $6 apiece and they could be picked up at a Fraternal Order of Eagles location in Dallas.
A phone number could not be found for either of the Alexanders, and Doug Alexander did not respond to a Facebook message sent Monday morning.
In a response to Runza's challenge of Texas Runza Kings' trademark application filed last month, an attorney for the Alexanders argued that the term "runza" is generic and should have its trademark canceled. The response also contends that there is no likelihood of confusion between the two entities.
In its lawsuit, Runza is asking the court to order the U.S. Patent and Trade Office to reject a trademark for Texas Runza Kings and issue an injunction against the Alexanders preventing them from using the term Runza or any of the company's other protected trademarks.
Runza also is seeking an undetermined amount of monetary damages, as well as its costs for filing the lawsuit.