KFC has sued Church's Texas Chicken, accusing the rival fast-food chain of violating its trademark rights in the phrase "Original Recipe."

In a lawsuit filed Nov. 8 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, KFC has accused fellow fast-food fried chicken purveyor Church's Texas Chicken of violating its trademark rights by using the phrase "Original Recipe" in its advertisements and promotions.

Church's Chicken has recently begun advertising some new chicken, bragging about the fact that they've gone back to the "original recipe." This is famously what KFC calls its fried chicken, in reference to Harland Sanders' original recipe.

KFC is taking one of its smaller rivals to court, suing Church's Texas Chicken for allegedly violating its trademark rights by using the phrase "Original Recipe" in pitching its fried poultry products.

KFC’s “Original Recipe” trademark, which it says is a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, has long been part of the company’s branding. The blend is closely guarded, and the company calls it one of the most “iconic trade secrets in the food industry.” It first trademarked the phrase in 1984.

The San Antonio-born brand has been celebrating the return of its "legendary original recipe" in recent marketing.

According to a report from Scripps News, KFC is accusing its fried chicken foe of stealing its trademarked “Original Recipe” phrase. The finger-pointing began last week when K

On behalf of all fried chicken lovers out there, we take it personally when another company tries to claim our iconic taste and branding as their own.'

KFC issued a letter Oct. 24 calling out Church's for its use of the two words, but the competitor didn't relent. The promotions in question, shared even after the letter was published, featured Church's fried chicken deals and text that read "Our original recipe is back."

KFC claims that Church's use of the phrase "original recipe" in its own advertisements "is likely to create confusion in the marketplace.