One of the co-founders of CaliBurger, Jonathan Wong, did not exactly conceal the origin tale. He informed the Los Angeles Times that the model had been In-N-Out when they inquired. Prior to starting CaliBurger, he worked as an In-N-Out manager. The decision to open a restaurant selling a burger known as the “Double-Double,” serving “Animal Style” fries, and serving drinks to patrons in cups printed with palm trees was either breathtakingly confident or simply the outcome of a calculation that the potential upside outweighed the legal risk because several of his co-founders were lawyers with expertise in intellectual property law.
When CaliBurger first opened its doors in Shanghai’s Jing An Temple District in 2011, it wasn’t exactly hiding its influences. In-N-Out became apparent in a matter of months. In September 2011, the chain filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California. The chain had spent decades creating one of the most recognizable brand identities in American fast food and had a documented history of defending it, having previously pursued trademark cases against restaurants in Chicago and Utah for copying its name and visual language.
Trademark violation was charged in the case. Legally and aesthetically, it was a plausible argument. CaliBurger had not been subtly inspired by the red-and-yellow color scheme, the palm palms, the particular menu names, or the way the food was presented. It had put together an almost exact copy.
Important Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| In-N-Out Burger | Family-owned fast food chain founded in Baldwin Park, California in 1948; famous for a deliberately small menu, the Double-Double, Animal Style preparations, and palm tree branding; the chain has a history of aggressive trademark enforcement, having previously settled infringement cases against Nicky’s In-N-Out in Chicago and Chadder’s in Utah over copied burger names and logo elements |
| CaliBurger and the Lawsuit | CaliBurger opened its first location in Shanghai’s Jing An Temple District in 2011; it sold a burger called the “Double-Double,” offered “Animal Style” fries, and served drinks in cups printed with palm trees; one co-founder, Jonathan Wong, was a former In-N-Out manager who told the LA Times plainly that “the model was In-N-Out”; several other co-founders were attorneys specialising in intellectual property law; In-N-Out filed suit for trademark infringement in the Northern District of California in September 2011 (Case 8:11-cv-01418) |
| The Settlement | The parties reached a confidential settlement in late January 2012; CaliBurger agreed to modify menu item names — “Double-Double” became “Cali Double,” “Protein Style” became “LC Style,” and “Animal Style” fries were renamed “Wild Style”; some décor changes were also made; financial terms were not disclosed; legal analysis noted the changes were modest in scope, and some commentators speculated CaliBurger may have received a payment as part of the deal |
| CaliBurger’s Pivot | After the settlement, CaliBurger repositioned itself around food technology; the chain partnered with Miso Robotics of Pasadena and became the first restaurant to deploy “Flippy,” an autonomous burger-flipping and fry-cooking robot; it also installed facial recognition ordering systems through PopID; the Pasadena, California location served as the technology test site; CaliBurger’s parent company rebranded as Cali Group, describing itself as “a technology company that happens to sell cheeseburgers” |
| Current Footprint | CaliBurger has operated locations across the United States (including Seattle-area restaurants and a Pasadena flagship), as well as in China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan; the chain’s Flippy robotic kitchen assistant, developed by Miso Robotics, was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2022; White Castle subsequently trialled Flippy 2 in 100 of its own locations |
Beyond its apparent face value, what makes the case truly intriguing from a legal perspective is that In-N-Out’s position was substantially weaker than it might have seemed. China’s trademark system needed either proof that the brand was already well-known in China, which was challenging for a chain that had never opened there, or registration through the Madrid System, which In-N-Out had not pursued. Although In-N-Out had a domestic hook to hang its lawsuit on thanks to CaliBurger’s California office, the underlying international trademark theory was weak. Less than five months after the complaint was filed, in January 2012, the parties came to a confidential settlement.
Legal commentators at the time pointed out that the terms that were made public were minimal. “Double-Double” evolved into “Cali Double.” “Animal Style” fries evolved into “Wild Style.” “Protein Style” evolved into “LC Style.” The palm trees remained. A few pieces of décor were changed. Though the terms were confidential and neither party confirmed anything beyond the name changes, there was conjecture that CaliBurger might have received a financial payment as part of the deal, which would make the entire episode appear less like a legal defeat and more like a calculated gamble that roughly broke even.
The most intriguing tale, however, is what followed. CaliBurger did not collapse or stand still. It changed course with enough purpose that it is difficult to interpret the post-settlement strategy as unintentional rather than intentional. The restaurant started working with Miso Robotics, a robotics business based in Pasadena, and finally deployed “Flippy,” an autonomous robotic arm that operated the fry station and used image recognition technology to track food quality in real time.
The Pasadena CaliBurger branch functioned as the live testing kitchen, and CaliBurger had officially been an early investor in Miso. Flippy was the first robotic kitchen assistant in a commercial restaurant to operate entirely on its own. A subsequent version was ranked one of the top inventions of 2022 by Time magazine. at the end, White Castle tested Flippy 2 at 100 of its own sites. In 2018, a Flippy robot was added to Dodger Stadium’s food booths.
Using a system called PopID, the company also installed facial recognition ordering kiosks that allowed consumers to place orders and make payments without touching anything by connecting their faces to their order histories. This was a dramatic change for a burger restaurant that had begun as a rather obvious In-N-Out knockoff. Nearly no menu changes, no franchising, and a gleeful disregard for technology innovation are all part of In-N-Out’s own strategy.
In the end, CaliBurger—a restaurant that embraces Korean-style burgers, seasonal specials, and robots—took up nearly the exact opposite position. In a 2017 Fox News interview, CaliBurger’s chairman, John Miller, stated clearly that the company saw itself as “a technology company that happens to sell cheeseburgers.”
It’s difficult to ignore the fact that CaliBurger might have continued to be a subpar knockoff indefinitely if the lawsuit hadn’t forced it to take In-N-Out’s identity and create something truly unique. The settlement, which initially appeared to be a humiliation, actually amounted to a forced change in course.
