Protecting Intellectual Property: not a half baked idea
When is a baking pan not a baking pan? Apparently when it looks too much like a chocolate bar.
Law.com reports that the Pennsylvania-based Hershey company is suing Williams-Sonoma Inc. over the shape of a brownie pan being sold by the popular store. Hershey says the pan "embodies and mimics" its candy bar design.
According to the Law.com article, Hershey is seeking an injunction to block Williams Sonoma from further sales of the baking pan.
At the time of this post, Williams-Sonoma had not yet commented on the suit and in fact, the retailer is currently featuring the pan in online ads all over the internet.
MSNBC reports that Hershey's suit says its chocolate bar is more than a century old, and has enjoyed trademark protection since 1968.
We are not IP lawyers. However, cases like this remind us how important intellectual property can be to a business, and that the business itself has to enforce its rights. Companies like Hershey have a lot invested in their intellectual property and make a practice of protecting it vigorously. That being said, some of these manufacturers/owners should be on the lookout.
