A Pennsylvania restaurant is engaged in a business dispute to protect its trademarked dish.

Chickie's and Pete's, which has locations throughout the Philadelphia area, recently sent a letter to Crabby Fries, a take-out restaurant in Devil Hills, N.C., to tell them that "Crabfries" is a brand which they have trademarked.

According to the owner of Chickie's and Pete's, the restaurant trademarked the term "crab fries," to describe its fries seasoned with Old Bay spice, in 1999. Company documents state that branded items are needed to reinforce customer recognition of a restaurant.

The owner of Crabby Fries has countered that the name of her restaurant simply describes what the dining spot plates up - steamed crab and hand-cut fries.

A grassroots effort recently began to keep the North Carolina restaurant's name. A Facebook page, Save Crabby Fries, had almost 250 members by Monday and a blog had been started to publicize the issue as well.

Opponents have argued that the fries are an everyday food in the Chesapeake Bay region, similar to cheeseteaks in Philadelphia. Thus, they say the dish cannot be trademarked.

But, this is not the first time that Chickie's and Pete's has used business litigation to fight for its trademark. The restaurant recently filed a suit against a pizzeria in Maryland that serves "Maryland Crab Fries."

Two years ago, Chickie and Pete's successfully sued another Maryland restaurant, which then changed their menu item to "Krabfries."

Chickie's and Pete's has been in business since 1977. The original restaurant opened in Northeast Philadelphia and six additional locations have now opened.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal, "Chickie's & Pete's too crabby about fries trademark?" Peter Van Allen, Dec. 12, 2011