Trader Joe’s Suing Pirate Joe’s for Piracy

Trader Joe’s (Monrovia, Calif.) is suing Canadian grocer Michael Hallatt, trying to enjoin him from using the name Pirate Joe’s on his Vancouver, B.C., store.

The American food retailer, which has no stores in Canada, is also suing for damages as a result of trademark infringement, false endorsement, false advertising and other allegations.

Its suit accuses Hallatt of “conduct that misleads and deceives consumers into falsely believing that Pirate Joe’s [has] been authorized or approved by Trader Joe’s.”

Hallatt’s store also is “visually similar to Trader Joe’s stores, imitating Trader Joe’s famous ‘South Pacific’ trade dress,” the lawsuit states.

Hallatt, who has allegedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trader Joe’s stores in less than two years, resells its products in his own store, including Trader Joe’s Organic Hummus Dip, Charmingly Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips.

Hallatt has argued, “If Trader Joe’s really was a person, he would be cool with this. It’s very typical of companies to think they have to bully little guys out of some sense of brand protection.”

In protest, he has removed the “P” in his front window and web site, converting signage into “Irate Joe’s.” His web site carries the catchphrase, “Unauthorized, Unaffiliated, Unafraid.”

He is countersuing for discrimination, saying the company began refusing to sell its merchandise to him beginning in 2012 with “corporate instructions to Trader Joe’s store managers in Washington.” He said he is legally allowed to “resell trademarked products if they are sold without material change,” his legal response states.

He says he is not violating any American or Canadian laws by exporting his purchases to his retail store in Canada.

“The purpose of Hallatt’s business, known as Pirate Joe’s, is to provide a convenience to Canadians who wish to purchase Trader Joe’s branded products but would prefer to avoid the time, trouble, and expense of traveling to the United States and returning to Canada through border security checkpoints and Canadian customs,” his legal response states.

“Trader Joe’s thinks Canadians are too ignorant not to tell the difference between the empire and my little shop on Fourth Avenue,” Hallatt told The San Francisco Chronicle.

Trader Joe’s has about 400 grocery stores in 30 states and the District of Columbia, including 14 stores in the state of Washington, which is where Hallatt has done his across-the-border shopping.