Questions Persist In Legal Spat Over 'Kentuck' Name

NORTHPORT, AL — Despite Kentuck Art Center & Museum saying it would drop a trademark lawsuit against a Northport business after it changed its name, certain questions persist as to the series of the events that led up to the public spat.

Click here to subscribe to our free Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

As Patch reported on Wednesday, Kentuck Nutrition first opened in December 2022 at the Shoppes of Northport at the intersection of Highway 82 and Harper Road, which prompted Kentuck Art Center to file a lawsuit over the name.

The business's menu includes meal replacement shakes, loaded energy teas, donut shots, healthy snacks and specialty drinks. It is also in no way related to Kentuck Art Center.

Indeed, Kentuck Art Center & Museum Executive Director Amy Echols argued if Kentuck did not defend its trademarks, then the nonprofit would be in jeopardy of losing them.

Echols also said that in the hopes of reaching an amicable out-of-court resolution, "multiple attempts" were made to discuss these issues with the Logan’s legal representative, but were unsuccessful.

She claimed Kentuck did not receive a response and had no other choice but to take the matter to court — a notion Cathy Logan, the owner of the rebranded KenTu Nutrition, flatly refuted.

Logan's arguments seem to be corroborated by a March 3 email response sent to Kentuck, where Logan hoped to offer her perspective on the matter. This response was delivered three weeks before the lawsuit was filed against the business in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court on March 24.

"There is a growing number of African American owned small businesses located in our city limits, in fact it's the first of such kind truly owned by an African American woman in the City of Northport," Logan wrote. "I am so blessed and excited to be in the City of Northport and it was important that I keep my business in the City of Northport, thus the reason why my love for my city and its amazing history led me to call my new startup Kentuck Nutrition, to pay homage to the City's historical roots, its beginnings, and its first name of the City of Northport. It's well known that Kentuck or Cane tuck was the first name given to Northport."

According to records from the U.S. Patent Office, the Kentuck brand as it is known today with the art center, museum and festival, has been in use since Sept. 5, 1974.

However, a trademark application for the Kentuck brand was not filed with the federal agency until Jan. 31, 2023 — more than a month after Kentuck Nutrition opened. And while federal records do indicate that the application has been submitted, the application is still listed as "live/pending."

According to trademark records from the Alabama Secretary of State's Office — which are cited in the lawsuit — the Kentuck Museum Association, Inc. has held numerous trademarks related to its name for some time and will be required to re-apply for the protected trademark status in 2025.

Here are the different trademarks held by Kentuck Art Center & Museum that have been filed with the Alabama Secretary of State's Office:

• Kentuck
• Kentuck Art Center
• The Kentuck Tree
• Rusty the Red Dog image
• Kentuck Festival of the Arts
• Kentuck is a Heaven of a Place

"I have received the complaint letter from your attorney and I must say with sincere respect my intentions were not to be nefarious, or ill intended and I certainly did not set out to deliberately infringe on the name or organization of Kentuck Art Center," Logan wrote in her email response on March 3. "I have researched this with my attorney and in our opinion, we think there is no violation of your current trademark as it's a geographically recognized location and historical name which could be enforced if we were a competing business, which we are not. I would like to as mention discuss ways to add value to your organization so that we both can support each other and discuss this further."

Instead of discussing the matter further, though, Echols issued a statement that criticized the business in the same breath that the nonprofit said it would be dismissing the lawsuit.

"Unfortunately, when Kentuck received no response, Kentuck had no choice under law but to defend the trademark and file suit," Echols said. "Kentuck now understands the name has been changed and is happy to dismiss the lawsuit. Kentuck wishes Kentu Nutrition every success."

This statement sparked outcry against Kentuck Art Center for its handling of the situation, including from Northport City Council President Jeff Hogg, who posted to Facebook Wednesday regarding the situation: "Don’t lie and pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining."

"When you’re wrong, say you’re wrong and admit it," Hogg said. "I get it. I don’t like when I am wrong either. But I would have had more respect and left this alone should you have done that. But now you are dismissing your lawsuit where you were expecting compensated damages from a small business owner because you received backlash knowing you were in the wrong and trying to cover it up. If you weren’t in the wrong, you wouldn’t turn off commenting on your post and censoring people."

Hogg is a longtime political ally of Logan's husband, former Northport Council President Jay Logan, who was listed as a defendant in the lawsuit along with his wife and her business, despite not being a principal partner in the venture.

Hogg went on to mention that Kentuck Art Center & Museum was able to reach the small business owner’s attorney and the owner replied immediately, despite the nonprofit's public assertions to the contrary.

"But in an attempt to make you look better, that part was completely left out of your post since no response was given to the small business owner’s letter and you filed lawsuit instead," Hogg said.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com