Monty Dahm, Owner of Atlantic City Tun Tavern Forced to Litigate

Monty Dahm is an honorable man and a United States Marine.

Remember, you’re never a former Marine. Once a Marine … Always a Marine.

You can tell that that the last thing that Monty Dahm wants to do is to be forced to litigate the issue of his decades-long trademark of The Tun Tavern.

Dahm has owned The Tun Tavern in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the past 26 years.

Dahm possesses the federal trademark rights for the name The Tun Tavern.

We caught-up with Dahm today, who was reluctant to talk about the situation. He shared with us comments that he has also shared with the Philadelphia Business Journal as follows:

"They (the Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation Inc.) are ignoring my federal trademark rights. They want to turn my trademark into a trademark entitled to protection only in New Jersey, and that's not the law," said Dahm. “I have been more than fair. It is appalling that we cannot reach an amicable agreement."

Dahm has alleged that The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation is using his trademark as their own name.

Dahm also contends that its application for the trademark, The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation was required to disclose if they knew that the trademark is already being used by another entity.

This does not appear to be in dispute, since both parties know that Monty Dahm has held the rights to this trademark since 1988, when he opened the Tun Tavern across the street from the Atlantic City Convention Center.

Dahm filed his case in The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Dahm is seeking the following remedy:

Recognition that he holds the trademark at both the federal and state of New Jersey levels.
Seeks unspecified damages for trademark infringement.

The Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation is proposing to construct a replica that would operate as both a restaurant and museum under the name The Tun.

Dahm is also concerned about brand confusion, should another entity to be allowed to use a name that is the same or indistinguishably similar to his The Tun Tavern brand name.

SOURCE: Monty Dahm.