with all respect to Adam, I have to disagree with his statement on small business copyright infringement hurting Starbucks... I quote Adam: "the outfits that chose those "copycat" names were trying to gain commercial advantage through them".
In the case of the Haidabucks Cafe, there was certainly no commercial advantage attached to the name. This cafe (actually a restaurant, they sell salads, sandwiches, etc.) is located on remote Island where Starbucks will NEVER open a shop. The name is derived from the Haida nation of which the 4 young men who run the cafe are members, and "bucks" is a common way to refer to young native men (the local basketball team which they all played on is called the Bucks). The cafe employs a number of local people during its busy season, but the owners do not derive enough income from their establishment to live in corporate luxury. All of them have other jobs. The cafe is closed in winter because business is too slow to stay open. If they were looking for "commercial advantage" they would not have invested in a small business that benefits their community, they would have invested their money in some remote corporation that does nothing for their community... like Starbucks, for example. Paul Neufeld
