Copper Moon Settles Trademark Suit, is Now The Brass Moon

The Copper Moon, the closet-sized coffee shop in The Statler Building downtown, is now The Brass Moon.

The café’s rebrand arrived this year when owner James Orlando settled a civil lawsuit with The Copper Moon in Lafayette, Indiana, a coffee shop that claimed Orlando’s store was violating a trademark its possessed since 2004.

Orlando had to change all previous branding—sign, social media, etc.—as to not infringe upon the Indiana store’s name or likeness, court documents detailed. Orlando chose, as its window sign on Euclid Avenue now shows, The Brass Moon.

The suit was dismissed after Orlando demonstrated the café’s branding was changed.

Copper Moon Indiana’s entanglement with Orlando’s shop, which opened up on Euclid in 2011, began in August 2024, when a TikTok video depicting one of his baristas refusing a sale to a homeless person went viral.

Selling to the unhoused, Copper Moon (Cleveland) responded, was against story policy.

Resulting backlash led to some harsh Google reviews and ragebaiting. Not all of them on the right store page.

“Many individuals have made negative posts or comments” about Copper Moon Indiana, court documents read, “with the belief [they] were affiliated with [Orlando’s store]. Many individuals have indicated they would not purchase [Copper Moon Indiana’s] products because of the TikTok video.”

A trademark dispute came next, with the Indiana store alleging they themselves grabbed the moon title years before Orlando opted for his. The Indiana store urged Orlando to change his store’s name and pay damages, alleging that their business was harmed due to the confusion between the two.

Copper Moon Indiana’s “goodwill and public perception will continue to be harmed,” a complaint read, “if [Orlando’s store] is allowed to continue to infringe on the Trademark.”

It’s unclear how much in damages, if any, Orlando paid to the Indiana store as a part of the settlement this summer.

Attorneys for both parties did not respond to calls from Scene for comment.

In an interview at the newly-named Brass Moon, Orlando told Scene that despite a year-long reputation hit—sales plummeting 40 percent—operations at the shop have pretty much returned to normal after sales bounced back this summer.

The store looked relatively unchanged, with its holiday decorations, Edison bulbs and iconic basket of penile figurines near the register, save for one word on the front window.

“I’ve been here 15 years. It doesn’t matter what I call myself,” Orlando said. “I’m the espresso closet with dicks. The sound byte is: No one gives a shit what my name is.”

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