Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Claim, 'Best Coffee in America' Trademark Denied, No Prestigious Label Granted, is Starbucks Truly no 1?

Dunkin' Donuts - the best coffee in America? Apparently not! The mega-popular donut and coffeehouse chain recently applied for the prestigious American trademark, and was promptly turned down by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In the explanation of its denial, the Office states, "It is well established that a mark that consists of the generic name of a food that is the specialty of the house or a principal attraction of the restaurant has been held merely descriptive of restaurant services." Looks like Dunkin' Donuts will have to continue battling things out with its no 1 competitor Starbucks without the official prestigious label!

Dunkin' Donuts was deemed the "Best Coffee in America" by foods trend editor Phil Lempert on NBC's "Today" show back in 2004, but the title was never officially recognized.  In order to stop other coffeehouse competitors from "claiming its title," Dunkin' Donuts applied for the official trademark earlier this month. The request was quickly rejected. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the "Best Coffee in America" claim is "merely laudatory and descriptive" and that the "informational slogan is nothing more than a claim of superiority." Reports have it that Dunkin' Donuts provided several examples and evidence to support its request for the trademark, including a 2007 AOL.com poll that verified that people indeed considered DD's coffee the "best in America."

Dunkin' Donuts was founded in 1950 and currently has over 32,000 international stores, selling more than a whopping 1.5 billion cups of coffee a year. Although the coffeehouse chain is indeed popular, does not necessarily make it the best coffee in America.

In fact, the popular global coffee company and coffeehouse chain Starbucks has been named the no 1 coffee provider by Zagat's annual survey of 8,000 coffee drinkers for the past three years. Dunkin' Donuts has come in runner-up each of those years. So would it be fair to deem Dunkin' Ds the best coffee in America? Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks fans, grab your favorite cup of Joe and battle it out in the comments section below!