By Jose Lambiet
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Looks like former Latin music superstar Gloria Estefan and her producer hubby Emilio could use a hobby, now that her career has waned.
They're locked in a legal screaming match with the owner of a WPB nightclub who dared call his reggaeton/salsa danceteria Cocobongos.
The Estefans claim the name of the modest nightclub in a not-so-good part of town is "confusingly similar" to the name of their two luxurious eateries, Bongos Cuban Cafe. Cocobongos owner Christopher Marrero has been told to remove "bongos" from the name of his Forest Hills Boulevard joint.
So Marrero filed a lawsuit last week to ask a federal court here to force Estefan Enterprise to stop hassling him. He's been in business under that name since 2000, never had a problem and won't change.
"The little guy won't be bullied by the Estefans," said Michael Santucci, Marrero's Lauderdale lawyer. "In 1999, the Estefans were sued by Bongos jeans for naming their business Bongos cafe, and they won by arguing that the word 'bongo' means drum and can't be protected by trademark. Now, they're reversing that argument against the little guy."
The Estefans' lawyer said the two Bongos cafes — one at the Miami Heat's AmericanAirlines Arena and the other at Disney in Orlando — have received calls from people wondering whether they're associated with Cocobongos.
"Trademark laws are there primarily to protect consumers," said Karen Stetson. "We've found at least four other businesses called Cocobongos in this country, and we'll address this with them, too."