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American fast food giant KFC is preparing to remove a chicken doner-style product from its German menu after a trademark dispute with Krispy Kebab, a Turkish-owned doner chain based in Bielefeld.
The dispute centres on KFC Germany’s “Krispy Kebab” product, which shares its name with Krispy Kebab, a registered brand that operates 17 branches across Germany.
KFC Germany said talks with the Bielefeld-based company were continuing, but described the process as “difficult.”
In a statement cited by DW, the company said it was seeking a “joint solution,” adding, “However, if this cannot be achieved, we will regretfully remove our KFC Krispy Kebab product from the menu.”
Krispy Kebab owner Sergen Kolcu said the company had feared losing revenue if customers came to believe the same product was now also available at KFC.
He said KFC’s expected decision to withdraw the product had brought relief to the company.
The legal dispute began after KFC recently started selling a doner-type product under the name Krispy Kebab in its German restaurants.
The Turkish-owned Krispy Kebab chain had already registered the same name and secured trademark protection.
KFC said it had not been aware that the brand was protected.
Krispy Kebab owner Sergen Kolcu’s lawyer, Markus Brock from the law firm SKW Schwarz, argued that the case involved a clear risk of confusion and therefore a trademark rights violation.
“If a consumer passes a Krispy Kebab branch and then sees Krispy Kebab at KFC, they may think the two companies are working together,” Brock said.
Brock said companies usually carry out a “freedom to operate” analysis before launching a new product to check whether a new product name infringes on another trademark. “Krispy Kebab should have appeared in this review and drawn KFC’s attention,” he said.
He added that he could not say whether KFC had conducted such a review or whether it had been incomplete, but described such a mistake by a major global company as “surprising.”
Krispy Kebab has branches in Bielefeld, Hannover, Essen, Emden, Wesel, and other German cities, while KFC operates around 32,000 restaurants worldwide.
Owner Kolcu, 29, founded Krispy Kebab in 2017. He currently owns two branches in Bielefeld, while another 15 operate through franchise partners. Two more branches are expected to open by summer.
Talks between the two companies have so far failed to produce an agreement. According to DW Turkish, the Bielefeld-based company offered to develop a joint product with its own sauces, but KFC rejected the proposal.
KFC also offered free advertising for the Krispy Kebab doner chain in its own restaurants, but Kolcu turned that down.
Kolcu said he now sees little chance of a last-minute agreement, saying the two sides had failed to find common ground. Describing the case as a David versus Goliath battle, he said, “David won.”
The dispute is also complicated by Krispy Kebab’s franchise model. Franchise partners have regional protection under their contracts, meaning they are guaranteed that no one else can sell Krispy Kebab in their own areas.
Kolcu said he was concerned franchise partners could demand compensation from him under their contracts if regional protection was not upheld.
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