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

KFC has slapped Church’s Texas Chicken with a lawsuit, initiating the begining of what could turn into a fiery, and finger-lickin’ legal showdown. According to a report from S

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.

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

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 filed a lawsuit after claiming a letter they sent on October 24 objecting to Church's ads that boast "our original recipe is back" was ignored. CNN reports that the phrase "or

KFC accused Church’s Texas Chicken of violating its trademark rights when it began using the words “Original Recipe” in its advertising and promotions.

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