Can Big Companies Control the Use of an Animal in Advertisements?

If you have driven cross-country, you know of Buc-ee’s. You have seen it from the freeway or you have refilled your gas tank at one. Whether you were brave enough to walk into one and burn precious road trip hours perusing at your leisure is another story. Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based chain, is known for its gas stations, its massive convenience stores offered alongside their gas stations, and for being aggressive when it comes to protecting its trademarks. Buc-ee’s trademark is recognizable due to its signature red letters and (of course) it features the head of its mascot which is a cartoon beaver in a signature red hat.

Why is this important? Well, Buc-ee’s is suing a mom and pop convenience store from Beavercreek, Ohio named “Beaver’s Mini Mart” because it also uses a cartoon beaver in its logo. Imagine that. A cartoon beaver on a sign for a mini mart in a town called Beavercreek. Beaver’s Mini Mart and Buc-ee’s are vastly different from one another. Beaver’s Mini Mart (“Beaver’s”) is a small neighborhood convenience store, and its trademark includes the entire body of a cartoon beaver who is not wearing a red hat. Buc-ee’s is a huge chain with 56 locations nationwide, and it is in the process of adding another 15 stores to its roster in the near future. What is interesting about this case is not that Buc-ee’s is involved, although that may raise some eyebrows. Instead, what is most interesting is the fact that Buc-ee’s seems to take issue with the fact that a beaver is used at all in Beaver’s trademark. This is particularly strange because Beaver’s is located in Beavercreek, Ohio where beavers are everywhere. The city is named after beavers because beavers are physically everywhere and the town is near Beaver Creek. Beavers are used on business signs, park signs, and is also used in the local high school’s nickname “The Beavers.” Recently, the Beavercreek City Council made the beaver the community’s official historic symbol. Clearly, Beavercreek is crazy for its beavers.

The current controversy with Buc-ee’s began when the owner of Beaver’s was asked by his bank to trademark the name of his business. As as result, the owner registered the trade name Beaver’s Mini Mart with the state of Ohio back in 2025. A state trademark registration is different and apart from a federal registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It provides protection for a trademark within the state of Ohio for the trademark owner.

All seemed well and good for Beaver’s until Buc-ee’s opened a new store in Ohio approximately twenty minutes away from the town of Beavercreek. In its lawsuit against Beaver’s, Buc-ee’s complains that Beaver’s trademark includes a cartoon beaver with “wide eyes and a smile.” The complaint also alleges that the red coloring on Beaver’s Mini Mart’s logo (namely the red lettering of its name) “mirrors” Buc-ee’s trademark. In fact, Beaver’s logo contains a full body cartoon beaver with no hat, no red, and hands outstretched. In addition, Beaver’s trademark openly distinguishes itself from Buc-ee’s bc it explicitly lists its address on its sign. Nevertheless, in its complaint, Buc-ee’s alleges that “[c]onsumers are likely to perceive a connection or association as to the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of the parties’ [Beaver’s and Buc-ee’s] products and services, when in fact none exists, given the similarity of the parties’ logos, trade channels, and consumer bases.” To many, Buc-ee’s arguments may fall a little flat since a cursory glance of both trademarks create very little confusion.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this lawsuit, as lawsuits like this are what business owners actively try to avoid. This isn’t even a logistical, personnel, or financial problem. Those are big problems business owners regularly deal with. This is a problem regarding a cartoon animal on the business’ sign. This may seem like a small, trivial problem to business owners who are dealing with problems that affect whether or not the business can physically survive in the coming weeks or months. However, a trademark issue can eventually cause disastrous problems for businesses as well, especially for those that rely on brand recognition and have invested a ton of money on creating and promoting that brand recognition. Losing the trademark can be a big loss.