Bean There, Done That

From our 19th-century historian, Eudora Dickinson:

People say that history repeats itself, and after today's ruling in the Grumpy Cat lawsuit against a Californian coffee company for copyright and trademark infringement, we can say, "Bean there, done that."  Information about the Grumpy Cat ruling is HERE.

Back in the late 1800s, there was a similar lawsuit when the Dickinson Coffee Company, founded by Emmett Lee Dickinson, sued the Brusque Coffee Company for copyright protection of Dickinson's "Grumpy Cup of Coffee."  In their "Enjoy a Grumpy Cup of Coffee" advertisement, the Brusque Coffee Company even showed a woman holding a grumpy cat, a distant relative of the current Grumpy Cat.
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Pictured below: The Dickinson Coffee Company in Washerst, PA.
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Pictured at the right:  The Brusque Coffee Company advertisement, "Enjoy a Grumpy Cup of Coffee!"

Emmett Lee Dickinson wrote about the court case in his now-classic poem  "You cannot drink it. Sue" (below on the left).  His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "I could not drink it, Sue" (below on the right). 
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By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
You cannot drink it. Sue
If you taste it first –
Though cooler than our Coffee – it’s
The Grumpiness of Thirst –
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By Emily Dickinson:

I could not drink it, Sue,
Till you had tasted first –
Though cooler than the Water – was
The Thoughtfulness of Thirst –
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The Dickinson Coffee Company had reason to be grumpy, though, because they lost the suit.  They could not prove in court that they had developed a "Grumpy Cup of Coffee" before the Brusque Coffee Company.  Within a year after the case, the Dickinson Coffee Company went our of business; however, Emmett Lee Dickinson turned his interest from making coffee to writing poetry about coffee -- and to this date, no other poet has written as many poems about coffee as has Emmett Lee Dickinson.

For the past five years throughout the month of February -- the month we call "FeBREWary" -- was have made daily posts of coffee poetry by Emmett Lee Dickinson (HERE), and this year will be no different.  Starting on FeBREWary 1, 2018, we'll post one of Dickinson's poems about coffee each day.  Check HERE for our daily posts.  Our month-long tribute to the coffee poetry of Emmett Lee Dickinson is sure to make you anything but grumpy!