LOS ANGELES, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Nathan Fielder has stepped out from behind the curtain of "Dumb Starbucks," the faux coffee shop handing out free cups of joe in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Fielder, who hosts the Comedy Central show Nathan For You, called a press conference in front of his store on Monday.
“I’m proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York soon," Fielder told reporters. "This really caught on so I’m going to ride it out. ”
Q: Did Comedy Central know? Nathan Fielder: "Oh, now they do." pic.twitter.com/L7vftl3va3
— Sam Schaefer (@Sam_Schaefer) February 11, 2014Starbucks said in a statement Monday that the coffee company would be "evaluating" next steps regarding the fake shop.
We are obviously aware of the Dumb Starbucks location in Los Feliz. It is not affiliated with Starbucks. We are evaluating our next step. While we appreciate the humor of the store, they cannot use our name. It is a protected trademark.
Fielder, wearing a "Dumb Starbucks" apron, later appeared in a video explaining why his coffee shop qualifies as parody under U.S. copyright law. This is "a real business I plan to get rich off of," he says.
