Hershey v. Torres

[TheUnknownCook]

I recently watched: Food, Inc., Super Size Me; and read, Fast Food Nation.

Fat Guy briefly mentioned the Save Jacques' Kiss campaign in his L'Ecole thread.

Jacques Torres' interview on Food Talk [Archive: December 6, 2009, Hour 2].

Articles:

'STOLEN' KISS RILES HERSHEY: CHOCOLATIER IN TRADEMARK FLAP

What's in a kiss? Hershey sues small chocolatier over name

Defiant Jacques Torres Fights Hershey Lawyers Over Kiss

Hershey’s Tells Jacques Torres to ‘Kiss’ His Champagne Bonbons Good-bye

Hershey’s v. Jacques Torres: The Lawyer-to-Lawyer Slapdown!

Jacques Torres, Boatman and Bon Vivant, Gives Away Free Kisses

Boycott Hershey Co.

Boycott of Hershey Foods to continue, ministers say

U.S. Ministers call for Hershey boycott over alleged child slavery

Hershey's Layoffs

College boycotts Hershey's chocolates for closing plant

Hershey to Cut 1,500 Jobs, Open Mexico Facility

Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate?

Bittersweet chocolate

[Divine Chocolate is owned by farmers.]

As for me, I will refuse to buy any Hershey products, including Scharffen Berger!

[Milton S. Hershey was allegedly, a Freemason.]

Edited December 10, 2009 by TheUnknownCook (log)

[Moopheus]

Shoot, now when I go into the drugstore, I'll be confused. I'll pick up a bag of Hershey's kisses and be afraid I might accidentally be buying a bag of Jacques Torres's chocolates. And I surely wouldn't want that to happen!

[Edward J]

Last time I tried any Hershey's was at Halloween--when I was 12 years old, and I have never tried any of Torres's stuff either. '

Like the big legal battle between Sacher and Demel with the "Sachertorte" last century, I'm guessing that this has everything to do with advertising.

That being said, I have read the book "Bittersweet Chocolate", and it goes into some detail about Hershey's and the way it conducts business, say, for example with the country of Ivory Coast, or say, for example with the way it treated cocoa farmers in the country of Belize. It's not very pleasant, but it is thoroughly researched, and backed up with specific documentation and facts.

Of course, in all fairness, I don't know how much better the other mega-chocolate companies do their business.

On a totaly different subject, for a some laughs and gasps you could read about Mr. Mars, the founder of the "Mars bars" fame. Interesting reading to say the least.....

[TheUnknownCook]

[cont.]:

Hershey's "Kissables" No Longer Legally Considered "Milk Chocolate" [Kissables (Reformulated)]

Chocoholics sour on new Hershey’s formula

Chocolate's bittersweet economy

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light [BookFinder]

Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation[book online] [BookFinder]

Food Inc. [movie online]

Super Size Me

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1432315846377280008&ei=uo8mS9-mL6bUrQLw_LWWCA&q=super+size+me&hl=en#

Edited December 14, 2009 by TheUnknownCook (log)

[Darienne]

We rarely eat fast foods, but I am indebted to you, Unknown Cook, for posting all this information. I've wanted to see the Supersize Me movie and here it is on eGullet. Thanks.

We travel a lot across the USA every year, and try very hard not to eat in fast food joints which are, of course, nearest to the freeways, convenient, fast, etc, etc. Taking snacks of plain chocolate with lots of raw almonds in it helps immensely. Actually that would make a good eG topic. How do you keep from eating fast foods while you are traveling...

[jsmeeker]

Is Jacques Torres going to confuse people? I don't think so. Is he intentionally trying to cash in on people's familairity with the Hershey product so that they kind of have an idea of what his item is like? I dunno.

But here the thing. Hershey certainly has a trademark here. And one thing that trademark holders have to do is PROTECT that trademark. They need to defend it. They can run into troubles if they let a "little" guy like Jacques Torres does it, but then try to enforce it when some large entity does something similar. If you don't use it, protect it, etc. it can be considered abandoned. Of course, there are some possible counter claims here. One could claim that "kiss" has become generic in the way thermos or asprin did. Has that happened? I dunno. That's for the courts to figure out.

FWIW, here is my source http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#6 If I didn't get something right, maybe Fat Guy can tell me what I missed. He is is a lawyer, afterall.

[Edward J]

Some interesting thoughts, but mine is why on earth would Torres want to associate his stuff with Hershey's? Huge difference in quality and price.

So yeah, protect Hershey's trademark, O.K., but I think that any advertising is good advertising and to poke your finger at a high end chocolatier might have an effect of some of the high end maker's reputation rubbing off....