Tag: trademark
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Baby Gaga Ice Cream Deemed Fit for Consumption; Lady Gaga Threatens Lawsuit
The London shop that sells ice cream made with donated breast milk has reportedly been cleared to continue selling the product after government tests determined it was fit for human consumption. Additional details about the investigation into Baby Gaga ice cream appear in Issue 384 of this Update. The owner of Icecreamists, the store that…
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EU Confectioners Not Entitled to Trademark for Chocolate Rabbits and Reindeer
Having considered the matter for some six years, the General Court of the European Union (EU) has determined that chocolate makers Lindt & Sprüngli AG and August Storck AG cannot register certain three-dimensional shapes, their colored wrappings and ribbons as European Community trademarks. According to the court, chocolate rabbits, reindeer, bells, and mice “cannot be…
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Candy Makers Spar over Packaging
Hershey Company has reportedly sued Mars for trademark infringement in a Pennsylvania federal court, alleging that colors used in the packaging for Mars’s Dove peanut-butter milk-chocolate Promises® candy is too similar to what Hershey uses for its Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups®. Mars apparently filed a preemptive suit just days earlier in a Virginia federal court,…
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Olive Garden Owner Sues TGI Friday’s Franchisee for Trademark Infringement
Darden Concepts, Inc. has filed a trademark infringement action against a TGI Friday’s franchisee located in San Diego, California, alleging that its use of “Never Ending Shrimp” to promote one of its menu offerings infringes the “Never Ending Pasta Bowl” mark that Darden has registered and used in its Olive Garden restaurants for 15 years.…
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National Pork Board Takes Umbrage at “The New White Meat”
A website that specializes in geek gear has reportedly drawn the ire of the National Pork Board (NPB), which apparently sent the company a cease-and-desist letter for marketing unicorn pâté as “the other white meat.” ThinkGeek.com offered the fake product as an April Fool’s prank, but later received a 12-page legal missive claiming that advertisements…
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Hershey Co. Claims Brownie Baking Pan Infringes Its Product Configuration Trademark
Pennsylvania-based chocolate maker Hershey Co. has filed a Lanham Act lawsuit against Williams-Sonoma Inc., alleging that the kitchen product retailer is marketing and selling a baking pan that infringes Hershey’s “Chocolate Bar Design Mark,” a purportedly distinctive rectangle scored into 12 smaller rectangles. The Hershey Co. v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc., No. 10-1011 (M.D. Pa., filed May 12,…
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EU Court Issues Ruling on “Bavaria” Beer Designation
Responding to questions referred to it by an Italian court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has determined that (i) the term “Bavaria,” when used in conjunction with beer, is not a generic term, but rather is a protected geographical indication (PGI) recognized in valid proceedings by the European Commission in 2001; and (ii) beer…