Just because he’s Mr. Softee doesn’t mean he won’t be hard on his competitors.
A Brooklyn-based franchise of the ice-cream vendor — whose creamy cones are as popular as its jingle is annoying — complained that three rivals are ripping off Mr. Softee’s trademark products, according to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The company griped that everything from the sugary “Coneheads” to the “Watch For Our Children SLOW!” caution signs on the back of all its trucks are being aped by the rival vendors.
The rogue ice-cream pushers are even shilling their counterfeit cones in trucks emblazoned with Mr. Softee’s signature blue and white colors, according to the suit.
Because the competing vendors’ vehicles look so similar to Mr. Softee trucks, customers could become confused and think they are licking a cone from the iconic ice-cream purveyor, which has been around since 1956, the suit says.
The problem has gotten so bad that the lookalike trucks roaming Long Island City and Brooklyn have muscled into Softee’s profits, the suit alleges.
The company wants the offending vendors — Boula Vending, Stravos Sergiadis and Mehmet and Sinan Sumbultepe — to stop using its trademarks and to pay unspecified damages for infringing on its copyright, the suit says.
The defendants could not be reached for comment.