Is a Kiss just a (Hershey’s) Kiss?
I don’t know how I feel about this story. A chocolatier in Brooklyn makes a chocolate treat he calls Champagne Kiss. It’s made with chocolate and Taittinger pink champagne, among the usual ingredients (sugar, etc.). Hershey’s heard about it and has threatened legal action over the word “kiss”. Of course, Hershey’s makes Hershey’s Kisses.
The Champagne Kiss was created two years ago for Valentine’s Day, but were so popular he decided to continue to sell them after the holiday. Yes, it’s the standard David/Goliath story. The chocolatier is claiming the big bad Hershey Company is picking on the small guy. Hershey’s is claiming his use of ‘kiss’ could confuse the poor consumer and is infringing on a trademark.
The reason I’m not sure how I feel about this is because I can see both sides. The guy’s trying to make a living and these things aren’t even shaped or packaged like Hershey’s Kisses. But Hershey’s has spent over 100 years building a reputation that they have the right to protect. I think if I was Hershey’s, I’d ask if he could just include a disclaimer that it is not associated with the Hershey Company. Who knows…maybe they did do that and he declined.
BTW, I heard of this because the chocolatier handed out 10,000 free Champagne Kisses (at $1.50 a pop) to raise awareness of the legal issue. Nothing gets people’s attention than giving out something free. They sound pretty tasty. I’m not a huge champagne fan, but I wouldn’t mind trying one.
Of course, things like this pop up all the time. I seem to remember McDonald’s suing the makers of Molly McButter because they felt that people would assume the product was from McDonald’s because of the ‘Mc’. I thought that was ridiculous. Spike Lee wanted to sue when TNN changed it’s name to Spike TV. And as I was typing this post, I heard on the radio that an all female Bon Jovi cover band had to change their name from Blonde Jovi because Bon Jovi said it was too close to their name and threatened legal action. Now they’re Blonde Jersey.
June 30th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
I hate to admit it, but I see Hershey’s point - mostly because I think that Jacques Torres’ argument is “ours tastes better.” Hershey’s actually makes a Champagne Kiss for Valentines …
While candy fans think it’s a pretty clear distinction, I’ve met plenty of people who confuse brands and names all the time and yeah, they’d be upset if they thought they were getting one or the other.
Oddly enough Hershey’s also sent a cease & desist to a chocolatier, I think, in California for a lemon kiss. They obliged and thought it was flattering that Hershey’s thought they their little shop was a threat.