Mister Softee playing hardball with rogue NYC operators accused of ripping off iconic music, brand
Mister Softee is playing hardball.
Owners of the iconic ice cream truck franchise want to put the freeze on three rogue operators — two in Queens and one in the Bronx — for ripping off its signature signage and jingle, they alleged in a pair of federal lawsuits.
The mobile ice cream giant claims competitors Mustafa Selvi and Gokhan Guzey are using a copycat truck spotted in Queens that mimics the real deal Mister Softee, down to the “Sundaes, Shakes, Cones” slogan, according to Brooklyn court papers.
Jesus Ramos Valdes, who does business as Maca Ice Cream, also has a lookalike truck that tools around the Bronx, and his vehicle also blasts the trademarked Mister Softee jingle, legal papers filed in Manhattan said.
Mister Softee got the scoop on the smooth cream-inals in June — from legit operators who had a meltdown — and sent the imitators “cease and desist” letters, the company said in the litigation.
Guzey and Valdez have ignored the orders and “continue to unlawfully use the Mister Softee trademarks,” the respective filings claim.
“Mister Softee isn’t a softy when it comes to defending his trademark,” Mister Softee counsel Frank Reino told The Post.
Kids don’t necessarily understand the difference between a fugazy Mister Softee truck and the Real McCoy, he noted.
“So when they hear the jingle or they see a blue and white truck, they think that’s a Mister Softee truck — and the risk is they may not be getting the same quality product,” Reino said.
He added: “If someone eats bad ice cream and gets sick, then they say, Mister Softee made me sick when it wasn’t really Mister Softee. And that damages their trademark brand.”
The Runnemede, NJ-based Mister Softee is asking the court to put a stop to the trademark infringement and lawyers fees in the suit.
Neither Guzey, of Westbury, NY nor Selvi, of Holbrook, NY, returned messages. Valdes, a Bronx resident, also did not respond.
The company first registered some of its trademarks in 1958. The Mister Softee jingle was composed in 1960.
Mister Softee has over 625 trucks and more than 350 franchise dealers operating in 18 states.
There are about 300 trucks in New York City and Long Island, Reino said.
