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RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — Firearms manufacturer Q, LLC, countersued a North Carolina gun store Tuesday in a case surrounding parody AR-15 receivers poking fun at the manufacturer’s founder.
Bad Attitude Department LLC, which designs and sells firearm parts in Lenoir, North Carolina, initially sued Q in June after the New Hampshire-based manufacturer sent a cease and desist over the gun shop’s “Q T Cat” — a play on ‘cutie cat’ — AR-15 lower receiver products.
Now, Q says that the gun shop violated the Lanham Act — the federal statute governing trademark law — and is infringing on Q’s trademark. Bad Attitude’s behavior also constitutes unfair competition and trade dress infringement, the manufacturer claims.
The gun shop intentionally chose an “identical version” of Q’s trademarked “Q” mark to include on its products, Q said in its complaint, in order to profit off of Q’s goodwill in the firearms marketplace.
Q has used its mark since 2016, the company said, and the mark is trademarked in connection with rifles, silencers and firearm accessories, along with apparel.
The parody receivers have cat graphics derived from Q’s logo, Bad Attitude said its initial suit, and are designed “to comment upon and criticize the founder of Q.” Near the cat, engraved in the metal, reads: “NOT FRIENDLY DO NOT PET.”
“The cat may look cute, but don’t pet, it bites,” the product descriptions for the parody receivers say.
In filings, Bad Attitude said that the “not friendly do not pet” engraving on the receiver “directly references Q’s and its founder’s widely documented abrasive personality and industry conduct.”
Bad Attitude also argues that the parody products substantially alter Q’s logo by adding a cat face, that the “cutie cat” language is at odds with Q’s “serious and masculine” branding and that the items are clearly labeled as parody products.
But Q says Bad Attitude’s Q mark with a cat face is “confusingly similar” to its mark, and the gun shop put its manufacturing details on the underside of the receiver and inside the trigger guard, which makes the Q cat mark the only obvious company identifier on the receiver.
Bad Attitude has also put the Q cat mark on t-shirts and hats and product packaging, Q said, which has caused confusion among Q’s customers, because the manufacturer has previously done collaborations with other firearm retailers that featured the “Q” mark.
The parody line will “deceive the relevant consuming public into believing, mistakenly, that Bad Attitude’s goods originate from, are associated or affiliated with, or otherwise authorized by Q,” potentially stealing sales from Q, the company says in the complaint.
Bad Attitude “made a conscious choice to copy the Q Trade Dress and develop its infringing and competing products,” the manufacturing company says, asking for the court to interfere and prevent Bad Attitude from manufacturing, selling or marketing the products, and asking that they be recalled and destroyed.
In its own suit, Bad Attitude asks the court to declare that it did not infringe Q’s trademarks, that Q’s mark is not famous, that the company suffered no reputational harm from the parody and that the products do not constitute unfair competition and are protected by the First Amendment.
Parody products are a core part of its business, it said, which also sells items like “Shit Show” patches parodying “SHOT Show,” the annual shooting, hunting and outdoor trade show.
Bad Attitude also argues that Q founder Kevin Brittingham — whom it did not name as a defendant — has cultivated a public persona within the firearms industry, and “subjected himself and Q to public commentary and criticism.”
The gun shop added that Brittingham has faced pushback from within the firearms community and once told a customer to “stfu” in response to an order inquiry.
A representative for Bad Attitude did not reply to a request for comment. Q’s Chief Legal Officer Sean R. List declined to comment on the counterclaims.
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