BEAVERCREEK — Buc-ee’s co-founder and CEO is speaking to the media for the first time since the chain filed the lawsuit against a local convenience store that’s garnered national attention.
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Buc-ee’s co-founder and CEO Arch Aplin reached out to News Center 7’s James Brown on Thursday evening to share his side of the story about why his company filed a civil lawsuit against Beaver’s Mini Mart in Beavercreek.
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Aplin felt this story has been one-sided.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Buc-ee’s lawsuit claimed the logo for Beaver Mini Mart on Hanes Road was too similar to Buc-ee’s.
Aplin told Brown that his company took “no pleasure” filing the lawsuit, but said it had no choice after trying for months to communicate with the mart’s owner, Vik Singh.
He went on to say Buc-ee’s tried registered mail, phone calls, and emails, but Singh never initially responded; as reported on News Center 7 at 11, an attorney for Beaver’s Mini Mart reached out to Buc-ee’s shortly after 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and said they were ready to talk.
Aplin called Beaver’s Mini-Mart the aggressor because it filed for its own federal trademark application, which he claimed was very similar to the trademark Buc-ee’s has had for years.
In a conversation with Brown, Aplin claimed the law says the only way to properly defend Buc-ee’s trademark was to file the lawsuit. If not, that could jeopardize its own trademark and could give Beaver’s Mini Mart control of Buc-ee’s trademark.
Aplin said he wants Beaver’s Mini Mart to do well and doesn’t want to jeopardize its business.
Brown told Aplin that plenty of people have questioned whether his beaver logo looks at all like the store’s. He called that subjective, and reiterated his company’s trademark concerns.
Aplin was also asked what it would take for Buc-ee’s to drop the lawsuit. He said if Beaver’s Mini Mart withdraws its trademark request, Buc-ee’s would immediately drop the lawsuit.
In a statement previously reported by News Center 7, the owners of Beaver’s Mini Mart characterized the legal action as unfair and vowed to contest the claims.
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