In the past I reported on a dispute between Pinnacle Pizza, franchisee, and Little Caesar Enterprises (LCE), franchisor of Little Caesars pizza shops. Pinnacle Pizza invented the tagline “Hot ‘N Ready” for a particular promotional program, which was then adopted by the franchise chain. Pinnacle Pizza sued LCE, claiming that it, not LCE, owned the […] Continue reading

Pinnacle Pizza was a franchisee of Little Caesar Enterprises (LCE), the corporation that manages the “Little Caesars” franchises. Pinnacle Pizza created a promotional program for its stores called “Hot ‘N Ready,” which guaranteed a hot, medium pepperoni pizza for $4 within five minutes of the order every Tuesday. There was some discussion about who conceived […] Continue reading

Pinnacle Pizza Co. v. Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc., does some contract interpretation on ownership of trademarks in a franchise relationship – not the trademarks originally licensed, but a trademark created by a franchisee. Pinnacle Pizza was a franchisee for Little Caesar Enterprises pizza (I’ll use “Little Caesar” to refer to the company; the trademark is […] Continue reading