The battle for Buck
By RALPH BARTHOLDT
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — Buck Knives is suing a Pennsylvania knife seller for using the Buck name to make a profit.
The Post Falls-based knife company has filed a lawsuit in federal court that accused BucknBear Knives of New Holland, Pa., of trademark infringement and has asked the knife maker to immediately quit using the name “Buck,” to market its products.
BucknBear has asked the court to throw out the lawsuit. As of this week, the BucknBear website was not accessible, but the Facebook page of the company was still up.
According to the lawsuit, BucknBear has used the Buck name since its inception in 2016 to market and sell its products throughout the U.S. including in Idaho.
By using the Buck name, BucknBear misleads consumers into thinking Buck Knives is involved in its company, according to attorneys for Buck Knives Inc., and has attempted “to capitalize on the strong brand recognition … and is seeking to benefit from that goodwill.”
BucknBear through its attorneys said many products on the market use “Buck,” as part of their name, and the company’s coat of arms logo is completely different from the “man at the anvil,” logo and the anvil logo used by Buck Knives.
Buck Knives began in 1902 and was incorporated in 1961. The company moved its manufacturing facility from San Diego to Post Falls in 2005, where it employs about 300 and produces more than 6,000 knives per day, according to news reports. The company is run by CJ Buck.
BucknBear began in 2106 by founder Atif Shabbir under the banner of Modern Outdoors. BucknBear knives are made in the Middle East, according to Online knife forums.
Attorneys for BucknBear said the company’s name neither deceives consumers nor infringes on its competitor. They have asked the case be dismissed.
“We are of the belief that there is no current infringement as there is no likelihood of confusion in the hunting knife market by the sophisticated consumer, nor is there any likelihood of mistaken association,” attorneys for BucknBear wrote in a recently filed motion in U.S. District Court. They have also asked the case be heard in Pennsylvania.