Maine Restaurant Changes Name to Settle Lawsuit with TAO Nightclubs

[Photo: Tao Maine]

Eater Maine reports today that the lawsuit between big-box, clubby Vegas/NYC Asian restaurant TAO and small, family-owned Tao Maine has officially been settled. Owners Cecile and John Stadler have agreed to change their restaurant's name to Tao Yuan after TAO sued the 52-seat restaurant last year for using the name Tao for their business. According to the Bangor Daily News, the Stadlers were "pretty confident" that they could win the case, but that "it wasn't worth it," and that they "just wanted to get on with the business of running the restaurant."

The initial suit from the chain demanded "unspecified financial compensation" from the Brunswick restaurant for damages and legal fees. A court order was also sent requiring that Tao Maine remove the word "Tao" from its website. Cecile Stadler's initial response to the Portland Press Herald last October, as reported by Eater Maine, was that "the 'tao' in Tao Restaurant means 'peach' and is based on a Chinese fable... The 'tao' that draws celebrities in New York and Las Vegas is a different Chinese character."

· Brunswick restaurant agrees to change name to settle trademark suit [The Bangor Daily News via Eater Maine]
· NY, Vegas TAOs Say ME Tao Hijacked Their Name [Eater Maine]
· All TAO Coverage on Eater National [-E-]