Buc-ee’s accuses Barc-ee’s of causing consumer confusion over logo

Buc-ee’s, the renowned Texas-based gas station and convenience store chain filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in March 2025 against Barc-ee’s, a dog park and coffee shop in Missouri. Buc-ee’s also has a Missouri location. This dispute has reignited discussions about aggressive trademark enforcement and trademark bullying.​

Buc-ee’s has a history of assertively protecting its brand as it has expanded across the US with 50 locations. Since 2007, Buc-ee’s has filed at least 10 lawsuits alleging trademark infringement. In addition, Buc-ee’s has filed approximately 15 oppositions with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. 

Buc-ee’s most recent lawsuit alleges that Barc-ee’s use of a cartoon dog in a circular logo too closely resembles Buc-ee’s iconic beaver mascot, thus causing consumer confusion and diluting Buc-ee’s brand identity.

Barc-ee’s acknowledged that Buc-ee’s served as an inspiration for its business, but maintained that its brand is distinct, given the overall differences in the goods and services and the marks.

This legal action has been one of the driving forces behind the closure of Barc-ee’s on April 17, 2025, after only three months of operation.

This case raises questions about trademark bullying, as well as the balance between protecting intellectual property and allowing small businesses to draw inspiration from established brands. While trademark laws are designed to prevent consumer confusion and protect well-earned brand identity, aggressive enforcement against smaller entities can be perceived as trademark bullying, potentially stifling creativity and competition.

Generally, courts have been reluctant to find trademark enforcement rising to the level of bullying, and this stacks the deck against smaller companies. Accordingly, courts have been unwilling to punish overbearing enforcement tactics unless there is clear evidence of bad faith or abuse of process. This leads to the results we see in the Barc-ee’s case.

Public outcry against trademark bullying has occurred in the past, with smaller companies leveraging community support to counteract intimidation from larger companies. Sometimes, the use of community support by smaller companies works.

For instance, when Chick-fil-A, a corporate goliath that uses the slogan Eat Mor Chikin, threatened Eat More Kale, a small Vermont-based company, over the use of this slogan, Eat More Kale launched a viral social media campaign that raised $80,000+ for legal defense. In fact, Vermont’s governor joined this public outcry and publicly supported Eat More Kale. This resulted in a successful resolution for Eat More Kale.

In this case, Bar-cee’s attempted to do the same by engaging in smaller-scale social media posts to appeal to the public, but it was not enough to save the business.

Initiating a public social media and promotional campaign appears to be the best strategy for staving off trademark bullying, given the lack of tools to find relief in court beyond arguing against the claims of trademark infringement. Such campaigns should be launched in association with legal counsel to make sure that public statements align with the defense and do not cause damage to the small business’s claims.

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