If they decide not to pursue action due to infringement then I'd argue they're not really separate entities at all so why have them in the first place. In which case, they're performing some sort of fraud. These things are usually illegal in the context of tax-evasion ("oh he's my nephew and I give him a company car, and full-salary for 'consulting' once a month.")

There isn’t any fraud here. It’s all very normal corporate structure.

Yum! Brands owns both, and Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, etc. The restaurants themselves are owned by franchisees who license the trademarks (and all kind of complicated buy-in and standards).

Yum! Brands made ThighStop to address the wing shortage and keep the association/credibility. It’s actually weirdly transparent: just like WingStop, but thighs. I don’t know if WingStop franchisees got automatic rights to that brand or not. My guess is that it was just a way to keep them afloat.

Now, the fact that WingStop has any cred is gross. I can get better wings from a mom & pop or local chain at any strip mall, or heck, a gas station than wing chains like them, BWW, etc.

I guess America outside the South and Buffalo, NY doesn’t have access to wings that don’t taste like a salt lick. It’s a tragedy.

As a couple nitpicky points:

As far as I know -- and I've double-checked this just now -- Yum Brands does not own Wingstop (which doesn't capitalize the "s", even though we all do it automatically). They own "Wing Street", which is a sub-brand of Pizza Hut. Wingstop is an independent publicly-traded company.

Wingstop created Thighstop as a "digital brand" -- essentially, a ghost kitchen run out of existing Wingstop locations. This is a trick that a lot of chain restaurants started doing since the pandemic. Denny's runs "The Meltdown" as a sandwich shop; Chili's runs "Wings & Things"; you can find others. You can only order from "Thighstop" online, but you can add a thigh to combos when you order from Wingstop if you're so inclined.

(And I have not lived in Buffalo, New York, but I have lived in the South -- and California -- and can assure you there are many "mom and pop" wing shops and local chains that…aren't great.)

Bah! You're totally right and I'm wrong. I flipped them in my head. Thank you for the correction.

Definitely some are not great, I can name 3 within a mile of me I won't go to. And some are "sketchy" but delicious. But that also applies to barbecue, mexican, catfish, etc. around me. Just look where the locals go. If there's a line at an unexpected place, it's probably good. But if it's around a college campus, it may just be cheap :).

>I guess America outside the South and Buffalo, NY doesn’t have access to wings that don’t taste like a salt lick. It’s a tragedy.

Or you make them at home. Which is very straightforward.

There were literally ads on TV by Wingstop talking about rebranding to Thighstop: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nTx4YuMa3cQ

This is no more fraudulent or shady than Apple having a brand called “MacBook Pro” and another one called “MacBook Air”.

It's not fraud, it's pretty clear marketing. When there was a shortage of wings, they stopped selling those and started selling thighs. Thus, Thighstop. This has literally nothing to do with tax evasion - you really are not understanding what they're doing at all.

> If they decide not to pursue action due to infringement

This is kind of a bizarre thing to say... they are the same company, so there is just not universe in which Wingstop would sue itself.

Thighstop seems to exist because Wingstop is/was having a chicken wing shortage.

There is nothing wrong with one business running two brands to sell two different products.