Angry Birds Sues Chicken Restaurant Over Trademark Dispute

Rovio Entertainment Ltd. v. Mary Mkhitaryan d/b/a Angry Birdz Chicken
United States District Court for the Central District of California
Case Number 2:13-cv-05401
Filed June 20, 2019

Rovio Entertainment Ltd. (“Rovio”), the developers of popular mobile game Angry Birds, have filed a trademark dilution, unfair competition, and state trademark infringement suit against restaurant chain Angry Birdz Chicken and Angry Birds Nashville Hot Chicken. Rovio is seeking injunctive relief as well as damages.

Angry Birds is a massively popular mobile game that, according to Rovio’s complaint, has been downloaded over 4 billion times and has spawned numerous sequels and variations. Rovio’s games have been nominated for and have won numerous awards as well. In addition, the Angry Birds franchise has spread to other media in the form of a television series and a feature film. Rovio’s Trademark Registrations for Angry Birds include Trademark Reg. Nos. 4,148,716; 4,200,545; and 3,976,576.

Mkhitaryan operates the restaurant Angry Birdz which, as indicated in the above photo, even uses what appears to be the same font as used in the logo for the Angry Birds video game.

Rovio alleges that the restaurants’ infringement will impair the distinctiveness of Rovio’s Angry Birds marks. Rovio issued a cease-and-desist to Mkhitaryan and Angry Birdz; however, at the time this post is being written, no resolution has been reached by the parties. The Angry Birdz restaurant does not appear to have changed its name.

We will continue to update this case as more information becomes available.