Marley Vs. Raising Cane’s “One Love” Case To Be Held In Louisiana

For those of you who love the deliciousness of those chicken fingers from Raising Cane's have definitely seen the Cane's slogan "One Love", which is also the name of one of Bob Marley's greatest hits. What you may not know, is that the family estate of Bob Marley sued Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers for trademark violation of the slogan "One Love", which is also used in Marley merchandise.

From theadvocate.com:

Back on December 6th of 2013, Marley's widow and kids filed a lawsuit in a Federal Court in Massachusetts. On January 14, attorneys for Cane's filed a motion to transfer the case from the District of Massachusetts to the Middle District of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.

Cane's attorneys said that Cane's has only one restaurant on the East Coast and that it is the only one north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Marley's attorneys wanted the case to be held in the District of Massachusetts because Cane’s East Coast eatery is in Boston and said the Massachusetts district is the closest judicial district to many of the plaintiff’s primary witnesses and the location of its evidence.

After hearing the motion to transfer the case to Louisiana, on February 7th, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said that 40 of Cane’s 175 restaurants are in the Middle District of Louisiana. He also said that Cane’s headquarters is in Baton Rouge, with a support office in Plano, Texas. It was then that Stearns transferred the case from the District of Massachusetts to the Middle District of Louisiana and will be assigned to U.S. District Judge James Brady.

Todd Graves, CEO of Cane's, has said Cane’s chicken-finger meals are the chain’s “one love.” He also said that Cane's has used the trademark since 2001 with no conflict and registered it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2005.

However, the estate of Marley has said that Cane’s never sought or obtained a license or permission to use the Marley "One Love" trademark.