Sen. Blumenthal looks into claim that Uber forced Fairfield hair salon to close

Sen. Richard Blumenthal is looking into claims that ride-sharing company Uber forced Fairfield-based UberSalon to shut down due to the similarity of their names.

First reported by News12 Connecticut, UberSalon owner Dawn Marie Ganino maintains that she received a letter from Uber threatening legal action over what it perceived as a trademark violation. Rather than face legal expenses, Ganino chose to shutter her business, which consisted of 20 hair stylists making house calls.

“Senator Blumenthal says the corporate giant does not have the legal right to lay exclusive claim to the word ‘Uber,’ and he says by doing so, the company was being a bully,” News12 reported. Calls for comment from Blumenthal were not immediately returned.

In a statement, Uber said, “We appreciate UberSalon’s interest in our on-demand delivery service model, but we requested that they not use our protected trademark to promote it. As a trademark holder, Uber has an obligation to police unauthorized uses of its trademark. The letter we sent in December asked UberSalon to transition to another name, not to shut down.”