Bana-rama

Photo by Val Dodge/Torontoist.

Obama Cybernet is no more, in name at least. Owner Amveson Fitsumbrahn made good on his promise to change the name of his Internet café on the Danforth to avoid confusion with the Obama Café just a few steps away. The "O" and one stroke of the "M" have been scratched off the original sign with surgical precision, neatly morphing Obama Cybernet into Bana Cybernet.

Fitsumbrahn says that some members of the community were upset when he changed the name of his business following last month's kerfuffle, but he's happy with the new name and about settling amicably with Emmanuel Debass, whose Obama Café is just three doors down the street. While insisting that his business and the Obama Café are completely different and that there was never any danger of people confusing the two, Fitsumbrahn says that making nice was the right thing to do. "We're used to solving problems within the community" rather than calling in lawyers, and drawing out the battle any longer would have resulted in "damage to both of us." Despite the name change, pictures of Barack Obama still line the wall behind the main desk. No word on when they'll be replaced by pictures of Eric Bana.

Now about the new sign, Joe Clark would like to have a little chat with you about that "N."

Comments (4) [rss]

[1] | Gauldar

I was thinking the same thing and I end up cringing when I look at this photo. That N is quite disturbing, it's like it's taking an axe to the A's head just before it drags it down the abandoned alleyway never to be seen again. I never had a sign do that to me before, at least that I remember.

Reply | April 20, 2009 12:49 PM

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torontocitylife replied to comment from Gauldar

Yeah, that M just got its leg hacked off. Before it seemed like a benign marketing ploy, now it looks liek a crime scene.

The original kerfuffle, as Val pointed out, was the accusation that the owner of the former Obama Cybernet was trying to: "...trying to profit from the publicity his store had earned [from president Obama's visit]"

This by a man who runs the Obama Cafe two doors down.

Business 101: publicity=more customers=(sometimes) profit; damn straight one should be profiting from publicity!

There are a few other things wrong with this "argument":
(http://torontoist.com/2009/03/an_obamanation_on_the_danforth.php)

"another Obama café "right beside me," he says, "is unacceptable." -- ummm, no, it's Obama Cybernet Ltd. and they sell computer equipment, not coffee.

"He cannot do that....it doesn't work like that in Canada." -- Actually, it does. You can name your business whatever you like as long as there's little chance of confusion between your business and existing one. Again, unless people are drinking foamy transistors these days, it's fine.

It's nice that they were able to work it out but I think if it had gone to court, it would have come out in favour of Obama Cybernet.

http://torontocitylife.com/

Reply | April 20, 2009 2:14 PM

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Ken Hunt replied to comment from torontocitylife

Actually, torontocitylife, you're not correct on the issue of confusing names.

A business name is not acceptable if it might give the impression that one business is related to another. In this case, it's the proximity of the two businesses as well as the name that causes the problem.

I could probably open up an Indigo Nightclub somewhere, but if I opened one up next door to an Indigo bookstore, they would have a reasonable argument that the public might be confused into believing that the two businesses were somehow related.

There is nothing in the test about the two businesses offering the same products or services, the only test is whether the public might be confused, and in this case, I think it would have been a very reasonable argument.

For more info, see here:
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cd-dgc.nsf/eng/cs01798.html

Don't worry though, I don't think torontocitylife and Toronto Life are going to be confused by anyone. (o:

Reply | April 20, 2009 2:51 PM

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