David Chang Drops Chile Crunch Trademark Enforcement After Backlash Over Redundant Name

Chang named his product "chile crunch" to differentiate it from "chile crisp," which he associated with Chinese cuisine. He now realizes the terms are interchangeable.

Chang attributes some of the backlash to a misunderstanding of language - he did not realize "chile crunch" was redundant with "chile crisp."

Momofuku will no longer enforce or police the "chile crunch" trademark.

Momofuku originally enforced the trademark as a protective business move to avoid losing it.

Chang compares having the trademark to the burden of The One Ring, in that they cannot give it away or destroy it.