Woofie's Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Chantilly Pet Store

CHANTILLY, VA — Northern Virginia pet services company Woofie's filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against Woofys pet store in Chantilly, arguing the use of the Woofys name by the owners of the new store will cause "irreparable harm" to the company's reputation unless the court steps in.

In filing the trademark lawsuit against Woofys and brothers Ayman Koshok and Kareem Koshok who the lawsuit contends are behind the new store, Woofie's is asking the court to block the usage of the name Woofys and award the company damages "as the court finds appropriate to deter any future willful infringement." Woofie's also named RPAI Chantilly Crossing L.L.C., owner of the shopping center where the Woofys store is located, as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Ayman Koshok and Kareem Koshock, former managers of the Fairfax Petland Store, were charged with three counts of animal cruelty in September, stemming from an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States. An undercover video made by HSUS revealed that more than a dozen dead rabbits were found in shopping bags in a freezer at the pet store. The two are scheduled to go to trial on the three animal cruelty charges in early May.

“What started as a trademark infringement issue has now turned into an animal cruelty and animal rights issue," Amy Reed, co-founder and co-owner of Woofie’s, said in a statement. "It is our opinion that anyone who has been charged with or convicted of animal cruelty should not own or operate a pet store.”

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Ayman Koshok said in an email to Patch last week that he disagrees with the trademark infringement claim made by the owners of Woofie's. "This absurd allegation has no merit," Koshok said.

Neither Koshok nor RPAI Chantilly Crossing L.L.C. had responded to a request for a comment on the trademark lawsuit filed by Woofie's at the time this article was published.

Founded in 2004, Woofie’s offers pet sitting, dog walking and mobile pet spa services. Woofie's has its corporate headquarters in Ashburn and three franchisee-owned locations that serve the Reston-Herndon, Leesburg and South Riding-Aldie communities.

In its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Woofie's contends it holds a U.S. trademark to Woofie's and that without authorization from Woofie's, the brothers adopted and began using a name "confusingly similar" to it.

"The Infringing Mark adopted and used by Defendants is confusingly similar to Plaintiff’s WOOFIE’S Mark. The marks are aurally identical. The dominant portion of the mark, WOOF, is identical," Woofie's argues in the lawsuit. "Plaintiff has experienced several instances of actual confusion since the Woofys store sign was first displayed, including receiving many phone calls from the public asking about the new store."

Woofie's is partnering with Puppy Mill Free VA on March 14 to hold a protest outside the Woofys store in the Chantilly Crossing Shopping Center. Last week, Woofie's started an online petition that has more than 7,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon to stop the opening of the Woofys pet store.