The newly launched Denver Book Society in Denver, Colo., which has already had a rocky start since opening earlier this year, is facing another controversy that has turned into a legal battle against Book Society in Berkeley, Calif. the Denver Post reported.
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| Book Society in Berkeley, Calif. | |
Last month, co-owner Kwame Spearman, the former Tattered Cover CEO-turned 2023 mayoral candidate, stepped away from his position at the Denver Book Society just weeks after its opening. Co-founder Rich Garvin said at the time that the venture "exists to be a welcoming, inclusive space for everyone--a place where stories bring people together. That commitment remains unchanged, and we are continuously working to amplify it."
In the latest turn of events, the Denver bookstore is suing the California store in district court, "asking a federal judge to stop the [Berkeley] company's trademark application," the Post wrote. Garvin previously has been involved in a disagreement over his store's name with an organization called the Denver Book Swap Society, which started in 2022.
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| Denver Book Society | |
In the lawsuit, attorneys with the Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck state that Book Society officials refused to "reasonably negotiate" and "made baseless litigation threats" against the Denver Book Society (DBS) during the dispute, adding: "DBS is entitled to declaratory judgment that it is not infringing any trademark of defendant or engaging in any act constituting unfair competition."
According to the complaint, Book Society sent DBS a cease-and-desist notice in February with demands that the Denver store cease operations and remove signs, merchandise and social media handles.
Book Society officials told the Post that similarities between the Berkeley store, which was founded in 2023, and the Denver Book Society "extend beyond the names and into branding, concept and language used to talk about each establishment."
Federal records show the California store filed for a trademark application in August 2024, and the name did not receive any opposition when it was published in the Trademark Official Gazette in June. Book Society's trademark application was listed as pending as of Saturday, the Post noted.
According to its statement, Book Society first reached out to Denver Book Society in April 2025, Garvin visited the Berkeley shop in July, and Book Society sent Garvin a notice of the pending trademark application in August.
"Book Society LLC's pending federal trademark application covers precisely the category of business--a bookstore with wine service and membership programming--that Denver Book Society operates," Book Society officials said.