Rat City Rollergirls vs. Starbucks

Seattle P-I

The Rat City Rollergirls of Seattle are this close to being preserved for time immemorial in a video game.

While the game developers do their thing, the all-female roller derby league has to trademark the logo that it has used since the league formed in 2004.

It seemed simple enough. But after the league filed its paperwork in Washington, it realized a challenge: There's another entity in town sporting a round logo with two stars, sans-serif font and a babe in the middle.

Starbucks has asked the league to change its logo, said Quinn Heraty, a New York lawyer representing the Rat City Rollergirls and its national association, The Women's Flat Track Derby Association.

"The issue is with the shape of the logo, including what they're calling concentric circles," she said. "They're saying that the dimensions of the circles are too close to their own. ... I mean, come on, circles and portraits? Big deal. Starbucks didn't invent that."