Exclusive: Chipotle files domain dispute in Korea ahead of franchise launch

Chipotle Mexican Grill has filed a legal dispute against a private business owner in Korea over the ownership of the chipotle.co.kr domain ahead of the U.S. franchise's entry into the country.

A Chipotle Mexican Grill store [SPC GROUP]

Chipotle Mexican Grill has filed a legal dispute against a private business owner in Korea over the ownership of the chipotle.co.kr domain ahead of the U.S. franchise's entry into the country. CMG Pepper, the entity that manages Chipotle's trademark registration, filed a legal dispute against the business owner through local law firm Kim & Chang, requesting to “cancel” the other party's ownership of the domain.

The business owner, surnamed Choi, says he registered the domain in late 2022, when he began preparations to start a business selling smoked and dried jalapeño powder, also known as chipotle.

Currently, the website simply shows a free template provided by the host cafe24, which Choi claims is a temporary stand-in until he officially launches his business.

In the filing, Chipotle argued that Choi's website is likely to mislead consumers and potentially harm the company's reputation. It also claimed that Choi could take advantage of the food chain's popularity to boost his own sales.

Choi responded that he created the website years ago after sensing the potential of jalapeño powder in the Korean market.

“I have no intention of selling the domain and want to keep using it,” he said — especially since “chipotle refers to a type of pepper powder,” making it “unfair for a company” to claim exclusive rights to the word.

Legal experts, however, say the case is likely to favor Chipotle.

“While chipotle does refer to a type of jalapeño powder, the website does not appear to show any real business-related activity and looks more like a domain being held without meaningful use,” said lawyer Choi You-na of the law firm Your Legal Partner, who specializes in intellectual property rights.

Lawyer Choi added that if the owner was serious about his business, he would need to present concrete evidence.

Chipotle is slated to open its first stores in Asia in Korea and Singapore in the first half of this year through a joint venture with SPC Group.

SPC Group said it is not aware of the dispute filed by the U.S. franchise.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]