A plan to open a “Friends” themed café in Toronto is on the rocks after the owner was forced to cancel the June 24 grand opening over a trademark violation.
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Josh Botticelli, the man behind the “Central Perk” parody café wrote on his GoFundMe page that Warner Bros. lawyers contacted him and “expressed that even in parody form, we would be in violation of their trademark.”
“Under these circumstances, it is with sadness that I must cancel the parody Central Perk event this summer,” Botticelli wrote in a GoFundMe post.
They noted that most people would believe that Warner Bros. created the pop up due to the magnitude of the event. We submitted a 20 page proposal on creating an authorized version under their control in order to keep the event alive. I spoke with the VP of their promotions department in California and they expressed that Toronto would not be a viable option at this time due to their being a lack of a significant sponsor. Under these circumstances, it is with sadness that I must cancel the parody central perk event this summer.
Botticelli is now trying to recoup some of his costs and has launched a $2,000 GoFundMe campaign.
During the past few months, I have incurred expenses in attempting to create this pop up shop (legal, web, technical) and I was hoping that if possible, that you can help me recover some of these costs. Any bit helps and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.
With “Friends” like these…..
Image – Facebook