Tim Hottens. I’m sorry, Tim Hortons. No actually, I was right the first time… Tim Hottens…

A coffee shop in India is in a spot of bother after Canadian coffee-chain behemoth, Tim Hortons, noticed something a little bit… similar in the shop’s branding.

The knock-off coffee shop uses the exact same typeface, branding, and colors as Tim Hortons and, oh, did I mention it’s called Tim Hottens? Now the real ‘Timmys’ is trying to shut the knock-off down.

Tim Hottens

The knock-off shop is in Yamunanagar, India, and it unabashedly copied the coffee chain’s look, clearly hoping to dupe customers.

The shop also uses Tim Hortons’ phrases: “always fresh” and “cafe & bake shop.”

The owner of Tim Hortons, Restaurant Brands International (TSX:QSR), will now seek to shut down the copycat store in the interest of brand protection.

“While we believe that imitation is often the sincerest form of flattery, we do have very high standards when it comes to our brand, the quality of our products and the service we provide our guests,” said Jane Almeida, a spokeswoman for Restaurant Brands International.

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“Therefore, we will be taking steps to protect our brand and trademarks, including closing down this imitation restaurant.”

Tim Hottens is Different

Tim Hottens is still doing its own thing on the inside of the store though. It sells alcohol and hot food such as burgers. It does also serve coffee. It also has a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on Google, so its customers are happy!

But the fact remains that Tim Hortons must protect its likeness and is taking steps to close Tim Hottens.

And could it really be a case that one copy-cat store has the power to damage a brand so big as Tim Hortons? Well, if we consider Restaurant Brands stock today, we can see a significant drop since the opening of the market.

Is Tim Hottens to blame for this drop? It could very well be! Protecting the brand is a must!

Featured Image: DepositPhotos/© macinlondon