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National barber shop chain abandons legal threat against small N.S. business owner over name

Tommy's Barber Shop is located on Albro Lake Road in Dartmouth, tucked in between a variety store and Chinese restaurant.
Tommy's Barber Shop is located on Albro Lake Road in Dartmouth, tucked in between a variety store and Chinese restaurant. Google Maps

The owner of a small barber shop will be able to keep the name of his business after the public rallied around him and a national chain abandoned a legal threat against him.

Tommy Gun’s Original Barbershop says it “sincerely apologizes” for a cease-and-desist letter sent to Thong Luong.

Luong owns Tommy’s Barber Shop in north-end Dartmouth.

READ: N.S. minister lends support to local barber locked in trademark dispute with national chain

In a statement posted on Twitter last night, the company wished Luong – quote – “every success in the future.”

The chain says it decided not to pursue the matter after getting all of the relevant information, but did not specify what that was.

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Luong says he received the initial letter alleging trademark infringement earlier this month.

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The story led to offers from three lawyers to take his case pro bono, and support from a Nova Scotia cabinet minister.

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Luong is a father of three who immigrated to Canada from Vietnam as a teenager in 1984.

After finishing high school, Luong says he worked 90 hours a week, washing dishes and fixing jewelry until he opened his own barbershop in 2003.

That was six years before Tommy Gun’s Original Barbershop registered its trademark.

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