Hall and Oates sue over granola-maker’s Haulin’ Oats cereal
FILE - In this May 20, 2008 file photo, Daryl Hall, left, and John Oates, recipients of BMI Icons awards, pose together before the 56th annual BMI Pop Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. The pop music duo has sued Brooklyn, N.Y. based Early Bird Foods in federal court. The suit asks the court to order Early Bird Foods to stop using the Haulin’ Oats name on packages of granola. They’re accusing the company of violating trademark protections with its “phonetic play on Daryl Hall and John Oates’ well-known brand name.” (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Hall and Oates are saying “no can do” to a New York company selling granola called Haulin’ Oats.
The famed pop music duo has sued Brooklyn-based Early Bird Foods & Co. in federal court, accusing the company of violating trademark protections with its “phonetic play” on Daryl Hall and John Oates’ names. The suit called it “an effort to trade off of the fame and notoriety associated with the artists and pPlaintiff’s well-known marks.”
In an email sent Thursday, Early Bird Foods owner Nekisia Davis said she had no comment, “Except ‘Say it isn’t so,’” — an apparent reference to a 1983 recording by Hall and Oates with that title.
The company’s website describes it as a small operation located in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. It bills itself as the maker of “out-of-this-world delicious, wholesome and nourishing small batch granola and other foods by hand.”
The suit asks the court to order Early Bird Foods to stop using the Haulin’ Oats name on packages of granola. It also says the company should hand over any profits made off the brand.
Hall and Oates are best known for decades-old classics like “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” ’'Sara Smile” and “Rich Girl.”