KFC sues Church's Chicken over 'original recipe' fried chicken branding

When it comes to fried chicken recipes, it may be up to the courts to decide who can claim the title of having the original.

In a lawsuit filed Nov. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, KFC has accused fellow fast-food fried chicken purveyor Church's Texas Chicken of violating its trademark rights by using the phrase "Original Recipe" in its advertisements and promotions.

Church's use of the phrase "original recipe" in its own advertisements "is likely to create confusion in the marketplace and dilute the ORIGINAL RECIPE® Mark," according to the lawsuit.

Two recipes, one phrase

KFC said in its filing that Church's began using "original recipe" in its marketing in September, specifically the phrase "Our original recipe is back" in television and digital advertisements.

On Oct. 24, KFC sent a letter to Church's objecting to the use of the phrase "original recipe." According to the complaint, however, that request was ignored and Church's had not responded to the letter to date.

Church's Texas Chicken declined to comment, citing active litigation.

As for the original recipe in question, "That combination of 11 herbs and spices is one of the most well-known, iconic trade secrets in the food industry," according to the complaint.

Used in advertising since 1972, KFC holds two separate trademarks for the phrase.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on the complaint from USA TODAY, but a KFC spokesperson told Reuters on Monday, "On behalf of all fried chicken lovers out there, we take it personally when another company tries to claim our iconic taste and branding as their own," adding "We remain committed to protecting our brand's intellectual property and safeguarding the experience of our customers."

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com