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Dumb Starbucks

Dumb Starbucks

Part of a series on Starbucks. [View Related Entries]

Updated Jul 27, 2022 at 08:28PM EDT by Owen.

Added Feb 10, 2014 at 03:50PM EST by Don.

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Overview

Dumb Starbucks Coffee is the name of a coffee shop that opened in Los Feliz, California as a parody of the American global coffeehouse chain Starbucks. Upon its opening in February 2014, the store gained much notoriety online after photographs of the storefront began circulating on various social media sites. Itv was later revealed to be a part of Nathan Fielder's Comedy Central show Nathan For You.

Background

On February 7th, 2014, a coffee shop named "Dumb Starbucks Coffee" opened for business in Los Feliz, California. The same day, the store launched the @DumbStarbucks Twitter feed, featuring photographs of the storefront.




As part of the store's promotional event for its grand opening, all drinks were served to customers free of charge. In addition, the store offered a “frequently asked questions” sheet, which cited the fair use law as legal protection for parodying the Starbucks coffee chain stores.


STAR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Is this a Starbucks? No. Dumb Starbucks is not athliated in any way with Starbucks Corporation. We are simply using their name and logo for marketing purposes. How is that legal? Short answer parody law Can you elaborate? Of course. By adding the word 'dumb', we are technically "making fun" of Starbucks, which allows us to use their trademarks under a law known as fair use'. Fair use is a doctrine that permits use of copyrighted material in a parodical work without permission from the rights holder. It's the same law that allows Weird Al Yankovic to use the music from Michael Jackson's "Beat It in his parody song "Eat t' So is this a real business? Yes it is. Although we are a fully functioning coffee shop, for legal reasons Dumb Starbucks needs to be categonzed as a work of parody art. So, in the eyes of the law, our "cotfee shop is actually an art gallery and the "cotfee" you're buying is considered the art. But that's for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do enjoy our delicious coffee! Are you saying Starbucks is dumb? Not at all In fact, we love Starbucks and look up to them as role models. Unfortunately, the only way to use their intellectual property under fair use is if we are making fun of them. So the "dumb comes out of necessity, not enmity Okay, Ithink I understand novw Great. Anything else? Iguess not. Okay thanks. See you later! For any other questions, piease contact us at DumbStarbucks@gmail.com.

Notable Developments

On February 8th, the @DumbStarbucks Twitter feed posted a photograph of their full menu, which features Starbucks-style beverages prefaced with the word "dumb."




The same day, actor Rainn Wilson from the television sitcom The Office posted several photographs of the store on his Instagram feed,[3] which received over 11,400 likes in the first 48 hours.


Follow rainnwilson 2 days ago Welcome to DumbStarbucks (on Hillhurst in Los Feliz, LA) it's just like @Starbucks only DUMB!! DUMB STARBUCKS COFFEE fe_r_n y_, thomasquintana, themadhatterswife and 11.4k others like this. shelbatronn Oh my goodness! Yes! @marlenavalerie jc21vega 2 Too funny!!! nnnnnn STARBUCK anamourra õlindaaguirre1 we NEED to go sarahdanz gyael mel yes. Im adding it to my google calendar in June. Deal? ked Coffee态leet Tha Dunb Espresso Db Brewed Cofee yael_mel @sarahdanz send me an invite Leave a comment...

Starbucks' Response

On February 9th, Southern California Public Radio[1] (SCPR) quoted Starbucks spokesperson Megan Adams who said the company was looking into taking legal action against the store. On the following day, SCPR[2] published a follow-up article which included a statement from spokeswoman Laurel Harper:

"We are evaluating next steps, and while we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark."

Nathan Fielder's Announcement

On February 10th, comedian Nathan Fielder, known for his "If you think you gave an STD" and "2 grams for $40" Twitter pranks, made an announcement in front of the store revealing that he had orchestrated the Dumb Starbucks store claimed that he was not worried about legal action since the coffee house was an art project and that he planned to open a second location in Brooklyn, New York. The same day, the Dumb Starbucks YouTube channel uploaded a video in which Fielder explains that Dumb Starbucks is a "real business I plan to get rich from" (shown below).



News Media Coverage

In the coming days, many news sites published articles about the new coffee shop, including the LA Times,[4] Time,[5] USA Today,[6] The Hollywood Reporter,[7] BuzzFeed,[8] The Daily Mail[9] and Gawker.[10]

Shutdown

On February 10th, Dumb Starbucks was shut down by the Los Angeles Health Department due to the lack of a permit to distribute food.[11]

Search Interest

External References

[1] SCPR – Dumb Starbucks mystery

[2] SCPR – Starbucks attempts to contact Dumb Starbucks

[3] Instagram – RainnWilson

[4] LA Times – Dumb Starbucks – Store cant use protected name

[5] Time – A Dumb Starbucks Opens With the Word Dumb Affixed to Everything

[6] USA Today – Starbucks Responds to Dumb Starbucks in LA

[7] The Hollywood Reporter – Dumb Starbucks Shop Appears

[8] BuzzFeed – People Are Waiting For Hours to Visit a Dumb Starbucks Coffee Shop in California

[9] The Daily Mail – Dumb Starbucks shop taunts coffee giant in LA

[10] Gawker – Dumb Starbucks Coffee Store Opens in California

[11] CNN Money – Dumb Starbucks: Authorities aren't laughing

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