Hammond, IN – Lawsuit: Local Gas Station Chain Using Unauthorized OU’s Kashrut Symbol

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    The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America has filed a lawsuit against Luke Oil for using a symbol that indicates a product is kosher. Stephanie Dowell/Post-TribuneHammond, IN – Contrary to its logo, Luke Oil Co. is not kosher, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of Orthodox Jews.

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    The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Hammond after the regional gas station company failed to remove the trademark from its logo indicating food is kosher, David Butler, the group’s lawyer, said.

    Pictures included in the lawsuit show the trademark, a U in a circle, appearing next to the word “Luke” in various parts of the Luke convenience stores, including above a wall of food and on a cup for fountain drinks.

    Some Jews and others with similar dietary concerns rely on the trademark to determine what food is kosher, meaning properly prepared according to Jewish dietary law, according to the lawsuit.

    The symbol has also been trademarked, which means it can’t be used without permission from the orthodox group.

    Butler said a customer noticed the use of the trademark and reported it to the group in August.

    Letters were sent to Luke, and although officials responded, they have yet to remove the trademark, he said.

    It’s important for the group to keep control of the trademark so that people who use it to make sure they don’t break with Jewish law don’t eat something that actually isn’t kosher, he said.

    “It’s clearly not (kosher) here, and I don’t know how or why Luke Oil decided to start using the patented mark in its new branding activity,” Butler said.

    Todd Collins, vice president of Luke Oil, said the company was working with the orthodox group and was close to resolving the issue.

    “We’ve reached an agreement, and we’re working toward straightening everything out with them,” Collins said.

    However, Butler said as far as he knows, the issue has not been resolved nor is in the process of being resolved.


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    23 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Any yid who might even think that a Russian owned oil ditributor would have OU or any hasgacha in their fast food/snack doors at gas stations has been spending too much time in the sun. Maybe we can use this as leverage to get Exxon to use only chassideshe hashgacah for their Tiger Mart markets located at most of their gas stations. While I understand OU’s need to protect their intellectual property rights and avoid confusion, this seems a litte “fafetched”.

    Aron
    Aron
    14 years ago

    On the west coast (& other parts of the country) there’s a chain of gas stations/convenience stores that has a logo that resembles closely the O.K.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    This is a chutzpah! Tomorrow the ou might advance from paper napkins,water bottles, and the like, to certifying the gas our cars “eat;” this would misrepresent their gas as Kosher without the ou making a dollar! Racmono Litzlan.

    tzirel
    tzirel
    14 years ago

    There is nthng to discuss the symbol must be taken off.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    When all is said and done, they are using a trademarked symbol… Yes in this case it might not be so harmful, but what happens when luke starts marketing their own snack products in their shops?? Better to make the fuss now and have them remove the symbol then to worry about it later when it could really affect 1000’s of jews who are “not in the know”.

    Simcha
    Simcha
    14 years ago

    The journalist who wrote this managed to get it wrong in the very first sentence:

    “Contrary to its logo, Luke Oil Co. is not kosher, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of Orthodox Jews.”

    The company’s kosher status is irrelevant, and not a matter for government adjudication. The issue here is the use of a trademark without permission.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    To those who don’t care about trademark infringement, isn’t the presence of the symbol over the food and beverage displays a matter of concern?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Isn’t there a requirement that commenters need to understand the articles they criticize before posting comments? Or at least read the articles?

    What is there to be sarcastic about here? The article says there is an OU symbol on the beverage cups and on the sign above the snack foods they sell. Which part of that don’t you people understand? Why do you care whether they are Russian, or worse, as comment #2 ignorantly claimed, that nobody would ever mistake gas station snacks as possibly being kosher?

    Now that Yom Kippur is over, I guess it’s okay to go back to our old inappropriate
    ways.