Hershey's Sues Over Brownie Pan

by Naomi Shulman, Posted May 20th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Would you want a brownie made in this pan? Kind of turns your brownie into a chocolate bar, right? Williams-Sonoma's chocolate-bar-inspired pan would seem to be an homage to the Hershey bar, but The Hershey's Company is not flattered -- in fact, they're suing.

Hershey's iconic chocolate bar has spawned plenty of imitators, many of whom mimic the bar's shape, with its rows of bite-size, interconnected rectangles. Hershey claims to own the basic motif, though -- four rows of three rectangles-- and is seeking an injunction to block the retailer from selling its pan version.

Find out why Hershey's is fired up after the jump.

According to the Huffington Post, the chocolate bar has been under copyright for more than forty years, and apparently the company takes its intellectual property protection very seriously. The company has accused Williams-Sonoma of creating a product that "embodies and mimics" its candy bar.

No one would really confuse a pan of brownies with a chocolate bar. That's not really the point, though, according to what the suit alleges. Law.com reports Hershey's complaint: The pan "is likely to cause consumers, purchasers and others to be confused or mistaken into believing that WSI's infringing products originate with, are sponsored or approved by, emanate from, or are otherwise associated with, Hershey or the source of Hershey's brand chocolate bars."

In other words, it's all about trademark dilution. And Hershey's claims it already has evidence of "actual confusion" on the part of consumers who thought they might be able to make "their own little Hershey's miniatures," according to the Law.com article. The suit has been filed in Harrisburg, PA, and copyright law buffs will surely be watching closely.

Filed Under: News
Tags: brownies, chocolate, hersheys, williams-sonoma

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-20-2010 @1:29PM Hailey Erickson said... I saw this pan and instantly thought 'I think I will make 'Smores' tonight... which means that instead of WS stealing their trademark they actually are providing free marketing. I think Herseys should be flattered!
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