Boston Garden pot shop sued by TD Garden owner: “Never heard of anybody confusing us with the arena”
By Neal Riley
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BOSTON (WBZ) — The owner of the TD Garden arena in Boston is suing a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary over an alleged trademark violation.
Delaware North, which owns the home of the Boston Celtics and Bruins, filed the lawsuit last month against The Boston Garden Dispensary, which has pot shops in Cambridge, Somerville and Athol.
The lawsuit says the names are nearly identical, and “members of the public are likely to be confused as to the source, sponsorship, or other commercial affiliation of TBG’s goods and services.”
It further alleges “irreparable harm” from customers assuming that marijuana products sold by The Boston Garden Dispensary are associated with TD Garden. The company wants a court to order the destruction of any materials that are found to contain their illegal trademark.
Owner Ivelise Rivera said her team hired a trademark lawyer to make sure the name “The Boston Garden” was available before they opened their first shop in Athol.
“Nobody disputed, nobody said, ‘no, you can’t use it,'” Rivera told CBS News Boston. “We moved forward and got the trademark and then proceeded to name our stores and open. We’ve been open for four-and-a-half years and hadn’t heard anything until they just filed.”
Rivera told the Boston Globe that they considered a rename, but Delaware North was not willing to help cover the costs of rebranding.
“As far as I know of, I’ve never heard of anybody confusing us with the arena,” she said. “I don’t think anyone sees The Boston Garden dispensary name and thinks they’re going to the arena. We’re hoping for the best outcome.”
The original Boston Garden on Causeway Street was demolished and replaced by the new arena in 1995. The building has previously been known as the FleetCenter and TD Banknorth Garden before adopting its current name in 2009.
In a statement, a Delaware North spokesperson said:
“Boston Garden” is among the most recognized brands in Boston sports and entertainment, tied to a historic arena that has been part of this city’s history since 1928. Delaware North has developed substantial goodwill in connection with this famous brand and holds multiple trademark registrations for “Boston Garden” (which are in full force and effect). We have made good‑faith efforts over a period of years to resolve this matter amicably and remain hopeful that an agreement can still be reached.
“To rebrand is not something that we really want to do,” Rivera said. “They never hung on to the name. They retired it. They really just said we’re not doing this and retired it, didn’t want to name the Garden, the Boston Garden because they wanted to get paid a lot of money to use somebody else’s name. So, I think we’re in here fair and square and it’s our name.”
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