National Post: How one guy tried to copyright a chicken sandwich. (With tomato, lettuce, garlic, and mayo)

On copyright crazy... Article by Roberto Fedrman, Washington Post In 1987, Norberto Colón Lorenzana had what we can all agree is a pretty unremarkable idea. Colón, who had just started working at a fast food joint called Church’s Chicken in Puerto Rico, suggested to his employer that they try adding a basic fried chicken sandwich to a menu that was mostly chicken-by-the-piece. The “Pechu Sandwich,” as it was christened when it was added to Church’s menu in 1991, was made with fried chicken, tomato, lettuce, garlic mayonnaise, and bread. And it was wildly popular.

There was a problem, however — in Colón’s eyes anyway. The fast food chain benefited handsomely from his creation, but he, the creator, never saw a dime. So in 2014, 24 years after the Pechu Sandwich was introduced, and eight since it was trademarked by South American Restaurant Corporation (SARCO), the franchisee that operates Church’s Chicken restaurants in Puerto Rico, he filed a lawsuit, claiming that the company had taken advantage of his intellectual property, and demanding that he share in the profits.

“Colón claims that SARCO violated his intellectual property rights for both the “recipe” of the Pechu Sandwich and the name of the item itself,” an appeal from the U. S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico says.”He asserts that the term Pechu Sandwich is a creative work, of which he is the author.”

- Read more at the National Post