'Hitler' Fried Chicken: KFC may sue restaurant in Thailand

[harrry]

KFC and the Thai government must close them up. It is an infringement of intellectual property and its use in the most heinous and egregious form with this Thai Hitler/Nazi thing.

As I suggested in the other thread, they could have legal problems with KFC, and using a famous genocidal maniac who tortured and killed millions of people to sell it is not genious, it is stupid, and like spitting in people's faces. I agree they must be sued for this.

If it were for marketing, they could have called it "secret fried chicken" or something.

When you say spitting in people's faces, I assume you mean thais spitting in the faces of some farangs. I don't think they really care how some farangs amongst 65 million Thais may really feel. It would be my guess that the business was opened to serve the Thai population and not the minority Farang.

Yes I do think the name is inappropriate.

All that drama when they could have simply called it Himmler and given him a black shirt and white bow tie

But then it would have to have been a Look Chin resturaunt,

[Cuban]

.....6-7 months ago. So the local Thai KFC folks aren't too concerned about it. It wouldn't be a surprise to discover that the Thai KFC people get some skim from that guy.

The Thais will have been very Thai about the situation and ignore it, they don't value the importance of brand value nor see anything negative about Hitler Fried Chicken, combined with not wanting to mess with another person's income.

It will be corporate KFC America that are either directly of via the Thai master franchise holder that will be contracted to uphold KFC values (certainly in terms of brand protection and marketing, if not chicken welfare) within Thailand.

The issue is the logo and any wording that the HFC is using, there will be a stop and desist and then non-payment of any costs etc.

The issue is not the Hitler connection, that's just bad taste and indicative of an unworldly education on the part of the owners of HFC.

Change the mock KFC logo and away they go: In fact they have achieved great publicity and by changing the company formation the owners can close down after the court case and start again at the same location with the same staff the following day, trading under an altered name with different branding and no one can touch them.

[freedom4life]

It's a national embarrassment, and KFC are giving it free publicity by doing this.

Who said it was a national embarrassment? Anything about this in the domestic press?

That in itself is a national embarrassment too. Word of this gets into the Western press and it will make the country look stupid and backward again. Hence, wait for it.........a national embarrassment.

There's no excuse for this level of stupidity.

Backward and stupid in the eyes of anyone? They think they are the envy of the world.

They are, in this regard. Try doing this in the west...besides, why are expats here getting so upset over this?

[Misterwhisper]

i posted it once and I'm posting it again: That "Hitler Fried Chicken" place is NOT in Bangkok, but in Ubon Ratchathani. Secondly, it's been open for about two years.

The story in "Daily Mail" - a notorious U.K. tabloid - twisted all the facts and made it look like this fast food joint had opened only recently. Not so. But now all the other media are carrying on the same mistakes without even bothering to cross-check the facts and sources.

"Hitler Fried Chicken" closed down briefly a year ago or so after KFC (Thai) had field a complaint against the operator for misappropriating its "Col. Sanders". The joint re-opened after a while, with Hitler's face now being obscured by black sunglasses and the name changed to - wait for it! - H-ler (with the 'it' replaced by a hyphen). Unfortunately, they apparently didn't get it the first time around, because they still maintain Col. Sanders' apron-clad body in their logo, so perhaps KFC (Thai) has now decided to sue them for good.

Anyhow, I'm wondering if a place like "Mao Zedong Steam Buns", "Pol Pot Beef Noodles", "Saddam Hussein Kebap", "Josef Stalin Borscht" or "Attila the Hun's Steak Tartare" would've received the same amount of outrage "Hitler Fried Chicken". Honestly, I don't think so, although they were all mass murderers, too, and arguably killed even more people than Hitler.

[mervyn yap]

They can change the name to Taksin,than they don't have to change the mascot.

[chiang mai]

Looks like Pepsi doesn't mind their logo plastered on the signboard though.

Pepsi went through something similar but without Hitler.

The Thai dealer that was supplying Pepsi in Thailand demanded the Pepsi recipe and of course Pepsi declined.

Then this dealer decided to try to copy Pepsi with no success. He copied the Pepsi logo and called it, I believe, "Best".

What's funny is the Thais hate the taste.

What a joy is must be to do business in Thailand.

KFC is a subsidiary of PepsiCo ......

No, KFC is owned by Yum.

[spidermike007]

KFC and the Thai government must close them up. It is an infringement of intellectual property and its use in the most heinous and egregious form with this Thai Hitler/Nazi thing.

Less than a 1% chance of that happening. The Thai govt. is simply not progressive, nor wise enough to do something like that. And the justice system is just not up for the task. Doubt there is much interest in trademark infringement here in the judiciary. And does the govt. care? Have they ever? The case will simply provide them with alot more free publicity. Shame on the proprietors for being so ignorant.

Mike Macarelli

Chaiyaphum, Thailand

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[marell]

I would call it very smart marketing.or do you know any other bloody chicken shop in BKK the world is talking about?

I don't think they planned it this way. I think it's as dumb as it looks.

+1

[Maggusoil]

It's a national embarrassment, and KFC are giving it free publicity by doing this.

I guess they weren't expecting an Jewish customers. I wonder if they put pork in the burgers? Anybody got a sense of humour round here?

[Endorphin]

Don't like their chances of suing a Thai.. KFC will probably get charged under the defamation laws for publically embarrassing a thai. A little like the Thai girl who reports assaults by her boyfriend to the BIB and then he sues her for doing so.

Yum corporation oligarchy is like a Thai girl that gets beat up by her boyfriend?

[nosatisfaction]

You think that Thais think an issue like this makes them look backward and stupid. 90% don't have a clue what Hitler did.

They are largely oblivious to what the outside world thinks, and their outrage that anyone dare to criticise shows this perfectly. Criticism is only reserved for Thais.

A Hitler restaurant is greeted with "so what?"

Some say: alzo, wass?

[marell]

Hahaha...yeah, right. You can't sue people in a nation with no basic concept of law, morals, intellectual property, etc. Like trying to fine a tiger or elephant for shitting in the jungle.

And why does any of this surprise anyone? Thailand sided with the Nazis (and Japan, more to the point) in the Second World War...case closed.

I hope as your name may suggest you are not teaching and in particular teaching history!

Technically speaking, Thailand did declare war on both the UK and the US in 1942. Don't think too many people took it seriously though.

[chooka]

Don't like their chances of suing a Thai.. KFC will probably get charged under the defamation laws for publically embarrassing a thai. A little like the Thai girl who reports assaults by her boyfriend to the BIB and then he sues her for doing so.

Although KFC (like MacDonald's, 7/11 and many others) is an American brand. Yum Thailand,

the sole franchisee of KFC in Thailand, is a Thai Corporation. See this link:

http://www.yum.co.th/en/our_brands_kfc.php

If Yum sue Hitler's restaurant it is a Thai Corporation suing a Thai.

KFC in the U.S. would not be involved in such a law suit.

Are you sure? Yum (Thai) don't own the brand or the logo, only have a licence to use it. Not having a dig at you just asking a question. Wouldn't placing Hitler into the international logo be a breach against the KFC brand and not simply a franchise.

Edited July 9, 2013 by chooka

[monkeycountry]

It's a national embarrassment, and KFC are giving it free publicity by doing this.

KFC is responsible for the image of KFC, Thailand is responsible for the image of Thailand. KFC has decided to protect it's image by distancing itself from this embarassment, and at the same time do the best KFC can to get rid of the embarassment. Thailand in the meantime has chosen to do nothing to protect Thailand's image. No reason to blame KFC for that.

[blabla1]

Pepsi and est....Carlsberg and Chang, Kentucky and Hitler, who do you think will win??

Edited July 9, 2013 by blabla1

[candyman123]

Hitler Fried Chicken being sued by KFC? He looks nothing like Adolf Hitler!!!

[Shakkas]

Would like to knoe the customer base.........

[thaimlord]

It's a national embarrassment, and KFC are giving it free publicity by doing this.

I remember when McDonald's tried to sue a village store in Scotland for using the name and the Golden Arches. Maybe the logo use was wrong but the McDonalds had been in the area for centuries long before that clown Columbus and his pal Amerigo discovered America and look at the problems that caused.

Burger King tried the same thing in Australia taking a small family business to court. Burger King lost and that is why they are called Hungry Jack's in Australia.

Look up the history, it went a little bit different than that.

You're right. It went a LOT different to that.

Jack Cowin's company was the official Burger King franchise holder for Australia; I don't think Hitler FC has the same franchise with KFC somehow.

Cowin selected the (slightly modified) name Hungry Jack's from a list of names actually submitted to him by the Burger King corporation itself, because the words Burger King were at that time legally held by another party until Burger King finally got a hold of the rights to it.

In violation of their own agreement with Cowin, BK proceeded to open several stores in Aus, the battle finally resulting in a lawsuit where BK wanted all stores re-branded to Burger King and their franchise back. They lost in court, and an ensuing agreement was reached whereby Cowin's company purchased the new Aussie BK restaurants and rebranded them Hungry Jack's.

Hence there are no "Burger King" restaurants in Australia to this day.

[NongKhaiKid]

 

It's a national embarrassment, and KFC are giving it free publicity by doing this.

I remember when McDonald's tried to sue a village store in Scotland for using the name and the Golden Arches. Maybe the logo use was wrong but the McDonalds had been in the area for centuries long before that clown Columbus and his pal Amerigo discovered America and look at the problems that caused.

 

It was my understanding that this was connected with head of Clan McDonald, who told them he could take away their using the name. Made me laugh

He threatened to send the Fiery Cross around, who needs courts ?

[CIHUAHUA]

I don't like the Hitler theme however it does not mean the same here as it does in the West. Another writer noted that it is negative publicity which is just as good as positive for business. If KFC sues it can't win or change anything. Very interesting topic and I hope we see the outcome. I wonder why any business would pair themselves up with a Hitler figure. I will not eat there.

Edited July 9, 2013 by CIHUAHUA

[harrry]

Burger King tried the same thing in Australia taking a small family business to court. Burger King lost and that is why they are called Hungry Jack's in Australia.

Look up the history, it went a little bit different than that.

You're right. It went a LOT different to that.

Jack Cowin's company was the official Burger King franchise holder for Australia; I don't think Hitler FC has the same franchise with KFC somehow.

Cowin selected the (slightly modified) name Hungry Jack's from a list of names actually submitted to him by the Burger King corporation itself, because the words Burger King were at that time legally held by another party until Burger King finally got a hold of the rights to it.

In violation of their own agreement with Cowin, BK proceeded to open several stores in Aus, the battle finally resulting in a lawsuit where BK wanted all stores re-branded to Burger King and their franchise back. They lost in court, and an ensuing agreement was reached whereby Cowin's company purchased the new Aussie BK restaurants and rebranded them Hungry Jack's.

Hence there are no "Burger King" restaurants in Australia to this day.

But there is a "Burger me" in Tasmania. Wonder if that says something about Tasmania.

[rwhoov]

There used to be a shop at Central World that had a display of German WWII toy figures complete with a Hitler giving the salute in a Nuremberg type podium. I don't think Thais have the historical memory Westerners do of the Nazi movement. It sort of reminds me of all the sidewalk T-shirt stalls that had T-shirts with likenesses of Osama Bin Laden for several years after 9/11. Somehow these monsters don't make much of an impression here.

[thaimlord]

You think that Thais think an issue like this makes them look backward and stupid. 90% don't have a clue what Hitler did.

They are largely oblivious to what the outside world thinks, and their outrage that anyone dare to criticise shows this perfectly. Criticism is only reserved for Thais.

A Hitler restaurant is greeted with "so what?"

I don't disagree with you, but how many westerners have a clue what Tojo did? Perhaps 'McTojo's Sushi Burgers' might even sell over in farang-land.

The award-winning Tojo's Restaurant in Vancouver for example.

http://www.tojos.com/Home.html

I guess no trademarks are in dispute with that one, but your point does underline the fact that so many western ThaiVisa subscribers seem to feel that the Thai people are stupid because they don't have the exact same knowledge-set as we westerners do. That actually makes those ThaiVisa subscribers seem stupid to me. It should be obvious that the Thais are very knowledgeable in many areas where we are not, and vice versa.

[dapsolapsalai]

Anyhow, I'm wondering if a place like "Mao Zedong Steam Buns", "Pol Pot Beef Noodles", "Saddam Hussein Kebap", "Josef Stalin Borscht" or "Attila the Hun's Steak Tartare" would've received the same amount of outrage "Hitler Fried Chicken". Honestly, I don't think so, although they were all mass murderers, too, and arguably killed even more people than Hitler.

This reminds me of the time, during the Josef Fritzl trial, that an Austrian café started selling Frtizl Schnitzels as there were so many journalists in town covering the story

http://www.france24.com/en/20090320-sorry-there%E2%80%99-no-%E2%80%98fritzl-schnitzel%E2%80%99-menu-

has anybody actually eaten there?

Edited July 9, 2013 by dapsolapsalai

[FiestyFarang]

As a Jew who has travelled to Israel and seen real footage of the concentration camps plus met people who their entire family was killed I am surprised that the authorities do not close this restaurant. I have lived in Thailand for many years and this restaurant just shows how stupid, uneducated and frankly dumb some Thais are and confirms the elite attitude some Thais have as we are number one and forget what the foreigner thinks. They will soon change their mind when tourism drops as now people around the world are amazed that a country could allow this in their capital city. Their so called new friends the Russians also lost millions in the war plus most of Europe suffered death under the lunatic who created the biggest war in the history of the planet. Shame on Thailand in 2013 is not more sensitive to the people that finance the country through exports, rice, cars, tourism etc Thailand is not a self sufficient country.

[Maggusoil]

Hahaha...yeah, right. You can't sue people in a nation with no basic concept of law, morals, intellectual property, etc. Like trying to fine a tiger or elephant for shitting in the jungle.

And why does any of this surprise anyone? Thailand sided with the Nazis (and Japan, more to the point) in the Second World War...case closed.

Yes and right all this was a long time ago. Not in my lifetime, although I was inside my mother while she was flying planes for the Air Transport Auxilliary in the Battle of Britain and "we" nearly copped it from a flying bomb on another occasion in London. Lest We Forget, the national signature for returned servicemen in Australia literally and not only means, Lest We Forget the fallen but also the cost of war.

Time is speeding up now.

We need to be in the present.

All the war mongers are profit incentivised.

That's all we need to know.

Hitler is dead and gone. Kentucky Chicken is a bad joke on nutrition and safe and humane business practice. I haven't been inside one in 30 years.

As for the Thailand bashers!

They're out in their droves again

and again

and again

When do you people realise people are people are people everywhere

[SSSlongtime]

with respect , gas the place and burn it down, maybe history lesson for the owner

[jpduggan]

Hitler restaurant couldn't buy publicity like this. They operate in a sh..hole of a premises and could move up the street in a matter of a day and open up the Osama version. Waste of space.

[bangkaew]

So what. Some people in the west wear t-shirts with chairman mao and he killed far more. There would be no fuss if it was Stalin and he again killed far more.

[Curt1591]

Looks like Pepsi doesn't mind their logo plastered on the signboard though.

Pepsi went through something similar but without Hitler.

The Thai dealer that was supplying Pepsi in Thailand demanded the Pepsi recipe and of course Pepsi declined.

Then this dealer decided to try to copy Pepsi with no success. He copied the Pepsi logo and called it, I believe, "Best".

What's funny is the Thais hate the taste.

What a joy is must be to do business in Thailand.

Actually, the rift came about from Pepsi demanding the controling interest in the Thai business.

The "copy" is called "est". It seems to be holding its own.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Curt1591