Frog Harrogate changes name following challenge from Adam Handling Restaurant Group
Frog Harrogate was opened in April this year by friends Charlie Moorby and Tom Moxham. The name, they said, is a call back to Moorby's family history running ‘The Frog & Forget-me-not’ pub in Clapham.
“The ethos carried forward of a local, relaxed, vibrant, family friendly and quirky bar and restaurant that truly showed it cared for its guests and staff is always at the heart of what we hope to achieve as a business,” Moorby and Moxham said in a statement posted to Instagram that confirmed the name change.
The pair said they could not retain the name ‘Frog’ and were they to attempt a name in which the word ‘Frog’ was used in any form they would have been subject to its approval from the legal team of Handling's restaurant group.
“Anyone who knows us, knows that we always strive to remain fiercely independent and as such the idea of our name being approved by an outside party wasn’t something we were willing to entertain. Please know this was not an easy decision, as it means we lose a name that has been part of our DNA for generations and had a deep affection from all of us working here.”
In a statement provided to BigHospitality, the Adam Handling Restaurant Group said it had been in touch with Frog Harrogate because its choice of name conflicts with its own Frog by Adam Handling Restaurant in London's Covent Garden, and claimed it caused confusion amongst many of its diners and within the hospitality industry.
It said: “The Adam Handling Restaurant Group has been in touch with Frog Harrogate because its choice of name conflicts with our earlier rights and has caused confusion amongst many of our diners and within the hospitality industry, as they thought that we had opened a new restaurant in Harrogate. The directors of Frog Harrogate have responded and we anticipate resolving matters amicably soon.
“Our Frog name is very valuable and important to us, to our existing restaurant group and to our expansion plans,” the Adam Handling Restaurant Group said in a statement provided to BigHospitality.
“We have no choice but to protect it from both deliberate and accidental conflicts. If you don’t protect and enforce your trademark against these types of conflicts, you become exposed and could lose your rights.”
“We appreciate that these conflicts can be accidental but, in this instance, Frog Harrogate have advised that they were actually aware of our name. We urge new business owners to conduct the relevant due diligence through the IPO website as unfortunate situations like this can become costly for both parties.”
It is the second such example in as many months of Handling challenging another hospitality businesses for using the Frog moniker. Back in late July, the owners of south London's Frog Bakery in Camberwell were issued a cease and desist from Handling's group over the name of their business and initially given six weeks to change it.
At the time, owners Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello told Eater London they were seeking a three-month grace period to rebrand the business and at the time of writing Frog Bakery is yet to announce a new name.
