Audemars Piguet Sends Lawyer's Letter To Ayam Penyet Hawker Over 'AP' Logo Spoof

A local ayam penyet hawker playfully spoofed Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet’s logo and tagline, and ended up having to watch his words when the latter served up a lawyer’s letter citing trademark infringement.

Nornizam ‘Nizam’ bin Amin, 49, a watch enthusiast who owns halal food stall Rayyan’s Waroeng Upnormal at Amoy Street Food Centre, had asked a designer friend to create the logo. Instead of Audemars Piguet’s brand name, it cheekily spelled out ‘Ayam Penyet’.

The brand’s original tagline of “le maître de l'horlogerie depuis 1875 (the master of watchmaking since 1875)” was also modified to become “le maître du poulet frit depuis 2014 (the master of fried chicken since 2014)”.

Late last year, Nizam printed the logo on a small batch of T-shirts and stickers for his pals, and displayed the sticker at his stall. It quickly went viral online ( 8days.sg also reported on it in November 2020). Netizens were tickled by Nizam’s wit, with some requesting to buy his ‘AP’ T-shirt.

As Nizam’s friends had advised him to “be careful”, he considered contacting Audemars Piguet about potential trademark infringement when his logo went viral. Ultimately, he decided not to “because my T-shirts and stickers went to such a small number of people”.

But the public attention would result in a legal pickle for the former SIA leading steward (left in photo, with his wife). Two weeks ago, he received a lawyer’s letter from Audemars Piguet’s legal team. Nizam says the letter — which 8days.sg has seen — was hand-delivered by a courier to his stall. “I read it and it was very formal lah. They talked about my unauthorised use of their trademark, and how I cosmetically modified their logo and tagline,” he shares.

According to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), trademark infringement occurs when “a registered trademark is used in the course of trade without the consent of the trademark owner”.

Nizam reckons that AP was forced to take action as they had gotten enquiries from their clients about the viral logo. “They told me their customers were curious about whether they had anything to do with my stall. So they had to make it formal with a lawyer’s letter to inform everyone that they had nothing to do with this. The company took it seriously maybe because this went out to many people,” he explains.

He also heard from his friends that there were AP watch collectors who were apparently unhappy about “being associated with ayam penyet”. An amused Nizam says, “I was like, come on! I just had a bit of fun linking ayam penyet to AP. In the US, people also change the Starbucks logo to something else.”

But this close shave with IP laws has not dampened Nizam’s love of watches. “I still like watches, AP being one of them,” he quips. While he dabbles in watch modifications on the side using OEM parts, he says he has since slowed down as business at his hawker stall — which he runs with his wife, also a former SIA leading stewardess — had “picked up after Phase Three started”.

Nizam’s stall is well-known for its supersized ayam penyet (his stall was also listed as one of the top five ayam penyet picks in the Michelin Guide Singapore in 2017). Prices start from $6.30 for the Jumbo Penyet Classic and a cheese-covered Jumbo Penyet Amsterdam.

Other than ayam penyet, he also sells a Balinese Gyudon ($6) with house-made Indonesian-style sauces, and Kuta Oyakodon ($6) with chicken katsu. There are Indonesian-style bami goreng sets too, which have toppings like Chix Cutlet ($5), Tempura Pollock Penyet ($6.80) and Prawn Katsu ($7).

There’s also a heartwarming outcome from all the media and public attention on Nizam, who says the “overwhelming” response was good for his business. He shares, “Some of my ex-colleagues from the airline, whom I have not seen for many years, also came to my stall to say hi. It’s a nice thing!”

Rayyan’s Waroeng Upnormal is at #02-86 Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Rd, S069111. Tel: 9799-7373. Open Mon-Fri, 9.30am-2.30pm. Islandwide delivery available (for orders above 15 pkts). www.facebook.com/rwp.sg.