ST LOUIS, Mo. – Philadelphia Bar, Jacks NYB confirms to FOX 2 it sent a cease and desist letter to St. Louis-based Arch Apparel to stop making “Play Gloria” merchandise. The co-founder if Jacks NYB, Mike Montecalvo, told FOX 2 they also asked Anheuser Busch, The St. Louis Blues and dozens of others to stop using the saying too.
Montecalvo said in early May the company put in an application to trademark the phrase, that he said has been theirs all along.
“That’s what we used last summer when we started all of this,” he told FOX 2.
Montecalvo said all of the other businesses that were asked to stop using the phrase complied, but he said Arch Apparel continued to make the products.
“They pretty much went silent on us,” he said.
Arch Apparel told FOX 2 on Friday that they are in their legal rights. Over the phone on Friday, the t-shirt designer with the company said after they received the cease and desist letter they notified Jacks NYB they were in their rights and said the conversation came to an end.
According to Montecalvo, the trademark application is pending and can take 4 to 8 months.
Montecalvo told FOX 2 after speaking with the owners of Arch Apparel on Friday afternoon he felt like the two might be coming to an agreement. On Friday night, the owner of Arch Apparel posted an Instagram live video explaining reaction from the situation. In the video the owner said he’s been in direct contact with Jacks NYB and said they two are working something out. He said nobody should aim hate at either of the businesses and instead should support both. As of Friday, Arch Apparel continues to sell the Play Gloria T-shirts.
