The owners of a fish and chip shop in Adelaide, Australia, have been ordered to change the name of their takeaway for breaching copyright rules. Grace and Andrew Crawford, whose shop Frying Nemo opened two months ago, spent thousands on signage, graphics and menus. They now face a similar bill to re-do all their hard more...
It’s not the name that has landed the pair in hot water – there are several Frying Nemo’s across the world including one in Goole, Yorkshire – but rather the graphics, which Disney claims show a close similarity to its popular animated character.
In an interview with Australian TV channel Sunrise, owner Grace Crawford comments: “We have definitely changed it. We went to our graphic designer who changed it over 5% from what you really need to do for copyright.”
The owners are seeking advice from lawyers to challenge the multi-national company.
The story echoes that of Essex chippy Scooby Snax, which 12 months ago was made to change its name after film giant Hanna Barbera claimed it held all the rights to the TV character Scooby Doo. Owners John McNeill and Andrea Smith were forced to rename their restaurant and takeaway of eight years to Johnny Mac’s Plaice.