• Parody store opens to huge lines at Los Angeles strip mall • Experts: Starbucks could sue but may lose more than just case 
 
 The comedian Nathan Fielder has outed himself as the man behind a parody coffee shop called Dumb Starbucks that appeared to throw down a gauntlet to the real Starbucks. 
 
 The star of the Comedy Central show Nathan For You gave a press conference at the Los Angeles outlet on Monday revealing the scheme was a TV stunt rather than an art installation or business start-up. 
 
 The cafe opened in the Los Feliz neighbourhood last Friday, mimicking the Starbucks logo, decor and menu but prefixing offerings with the word “dumb”. 
 
 Long lines formed as word spread on the street and social media, prompting debate over whether it was Banksy-style pop-up art or an entrepreneur’s audacious attempt to simultaneousy mock and purloin the Starbucks brand. 
 
 Starbucks said in a statement it was aware of the store, which was not affiliated. The statement said: “We are evaluating next steps and while we appreciate the humour, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark.” 
 
 Cups stand on display cases at Dumb Starbucks. Photograph: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters 
 
 By Monday afternoon digging by the Associated Press and others linked the site, in the corner of a strip mall, to Fielder’s production company, Abso Lutely Productions. 
 
 He ended the speculation by uploading a video in which he appeared as a barista and declared himself the founder and president of Dumb Starbucks. “Many of you probably know me as a comedian. But this is no joke. This is a real business I plan to get rich from. But I need your support.” 
 
 Keeping a straight face at a press conference outside he continued in the same vein. “I’m proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York soon … This really caught on so I’m going to ride it out.” 
 
 A rather large question mark hung over that ambition: the stunt will be included in the Nathan for You docu-reality series, which stages public hoaxes. Plus, legal experts said the outlet stretched the first amendment’s protection of parody and probably violated the real Starbucks trademark. 
 
 A fact sheet posted inside the shop claimed that by adding the word “dumb” it was technically making fun of Starbucks and so could use their trademarks under a law known as fair use. 
 
 “Dumb Starbucks needs to be categorised as a work of parody art. So, in the eyes of the law, our ‘coffee shop’ is actually an art gallery and the ‘coffee’ you’re buying is considered the art. But that’s for our lawyers to worry about. All you need to do is enjoy our delicious coffee!” 
 
 After just four tweets in three days the store’s Twitter account, @dumbstarbucks, acquired more than 7,000 followers. People waited more than an hour in line to choose from a menu offering dumb espresso, dumb brewed coffee, dumb tea, dumb latte, dumb frappuccino. Drinks came in dumb tall, dumb grande and dumb venti sizes. The two baristas said they were hired via Craigslist. 
 
 The store was closed by 6pm local time, disappointing would-be customers outside. 
 
 On Twitter many saluted what they called a clever publicity stunt. “Somehow both the most idiotic and brilliant thing ever,” tweeted @jackie527 
 
 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Dumb Starbucks menu board. Photograph: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters 
 
 If the store reopens or if Fielder tries to open a second outlet he will likely face legal challenge from the Seattle-based corporation. 
 
 Starbucks would probably win a trademark dilution claim on the grounds of damage to its goodwill and reputation, said Melissa Dagodag, a lawyer specialised in intellectual property. “I believe if the case is taken to court,” she said, “the court may be very likely to issue a permanent injunction against the operating of a coffee shop under the name Dumb Starbucks.” 
 
 Joseph Mandour, an attorney with Mandour & Associates, said to qualify as a parody – and thus avoid trademark infringement – it would have to be clear the Dumb Starbucks store was not associated in any way with the real chain, which has 20,000 outlets worldwide. “In this case Starbucks can definitely argue that some consumers might think this is a real Starbucks, or at a minimum that it is somehow related to the real Starbucks.” 

 The Los Angeles County Health Department shut down the Dumb Starbucks on Monday just as the man behind the faux coffee shop in Los Feliz revealed he was the host of a Comedy Central TV show. 
 
 The shop was closed for operating without a health permit, the department told The Times. A sign was posted on the front window of the store on Hillhurst Avenue on Monday evening, saying it was closed for violations. 
 
 Comedian Nathan Fielder held a tongue-in-cheek news conference outside the storefront in a strip mall, wearing a green apron adorned with the mock logo. 
 
 Dozens of people were still waiting in line for cups -- beverages were no longer being served -- as Fielder began speaking. 
 
 Fielder, whose show "Nathan for You" airs on Comedy Central, told reporters and Dumb Starbucks patrons who filled the strip mall parking lot that he has always wanted to own a small business. 
 
 He said capitalizing on Starbucks' corporate name really helped this one take off. 
 
 "There have been lines around the block, and very few small businesses get that from the start," he said. 
 
 Did Comedy Central know about this? a reporter asked. 
 
 "Oh, they do now," Fielder said. 
 
 No word on when a new season of his show will begin or what's next for Dumb Starbucks -- though Fielder said he hopes to open a location in Brooklyn. 
 
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 Twitter: @Sam_Schaefer 
 
 samantha.schaefer@latimes.com
– Looks like "Dumb Starbucks" has served its last Dumb Frappuccino. LA County health inspectors shut down the "parody coffee shop" yesterday, soon after comedian Nathan Fielder revealed himself as the brains of the operation, reports the Los Angeles Times. The Canadian funnyman hosts the Comedy Central show Nathan for You, in which he comes up with bizarre strategies to save struggling businesses. Before the store was shut down for not having a permit, leaving a line of disappointed customers, Fielder—still in character and wearing a Dumb Starbucks apron—addressed the media, the Guardian reports. "I'm proud to announce we’ll be opening our second Starbucks in Brooklyn, New York, soon," he said. The real coffee chain is taking the parody in good humor, though its tolerance may not extend to another branch. "We are aware of the store," Starbucks said in a statement. "We are evaluating next steps, and while we appreciate the humor, they cannot use our name, which is a protected trademark."