Last week a court order banned Mister Softee copycat Master Softee from operating ice cream trucks within NYC, when Judge Laura Taylor Swain found that Master Softee owner Dimitrios Tsirkos had "adopted his truck designs with the object of achieving an appearance similar to plaintiff's Mister Softee trucks." Immediately after the court ruling, the rogue company continued to roam the streets unchanged, but now it looks like it's finally at least attempting to comply with the ruling.
Now the word "Master" has been removed from the trucks, although the word "Softee" is still there, which would seem to be the more distinct part of the trademark (Mister Softee has successfully litigated against other copycats named "Super Softee" and "Mustafa Softee" in the past). The large ice cream man mascot that was once displayed the side of Master Softee has also been removed, although a small decal remained on the rear of at least one former Master Softee Truck this past weekend. Master Softee's mascot differs only slightly from the iconic Mister Softee ice cream cone man. Mister Softee has reportedly dispatched private detectives to search NYC for Master Softee trucks, and whether the cosmetic changes made will be enough to satisfy Judge Swain remains to be seen.
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