Do Morons In A Hurry Eat Cupcakes?
from the circle-with-a-dot? dept
Reader GeneralEmergency alerts us to yet another bizarre trademark lawsuit -- this time involving cupcake shops. Apparently, there's some fancy cupcake-store-to-the-stars, called Sprinkles Cupcakes that has trademarked putting a circle with a dot in the middle on top of its cupcakes. Another cupcake company, Famous Cupcakes also started putting a circle with a dot on top of their cupcakes -- so now they're heading to court. I'm sure this is what the original creators of trademark law intended: stopping dastardly cupcake makers from decorating their cupcakes in a similar manner.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: cupcakes, trademark
Companies: famous cupcakes, sprinkles cupcakes
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Re: Finally a topic :)
Some people are genetically challenged while others are crippled by their upbringing. Based on Mike's moronic writings I suspect that he is dually challenged.
Returning to the issue of distinctive trademarks, it is Mike's which others seem to be copying, bluster and posturing without any grasp of what they are talking about.
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.patentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.
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Re: Re: Finally a topic :)
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Re: Re: Re: Finally a topic :)
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Re: Re: Finally a topic :)
What ?
That doesn't make sense.
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Re:
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Re: Re:
But how old are the cupcakes?
And are they starting to sag?
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moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
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Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
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Re: Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
The "brand" per se isn't just a logo but what the logo means to the customer. Brand loyalty comes from owning a good quality product from a given company, and then subsequently purchasing more of the same product or other products from that company. A brand is what the company stands for in the marketplace and not just fancy logos and sleek marketing, it's collective consumer experience with a company's products.
The visuals are just reminders that what you're buying is produced by that company.
So if one small cupcake boutique bakes Damn Good cupcakes with a unique look to it, and finds that the community identifies that look with their product and business they will trademark it. The community now identifies that look with that business and their quality cupcakes. If some cut-rate cup cake company begins selling similar looking cup cakes that taste like shit, it damages your brand.
Going after a trademark violation like this protects customers from buying terrible cup cakes.
What's so wrong with that?
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Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
If it was not registered, then did each cupcake have a corresponding use TM mark?
And here's another problem I have, is this mark widely known enough to cause any confusion in the marketplace? According to the article the company is a niche market (to the rich, who make up a small and increasingly smaller population in the US) so the vast majority of consumers would not be confused.
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Re: Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
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Re: Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
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Re: Re: Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
Interesting point, but does Sprinkles then own said design on a national setting? Because that's what trademark grants.
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Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
Maybe if someone on a street corner was selling them I can see people getting confused. Or maybe if it caters to the stars, its gotta worry about press, "Angelina Jolie spotted eating a Famous Cupcake!" but OH NO, it was a Sprinkle's Cupcake!!!
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Re: moron in a hurry to satisfy a sweet tooth
I think Sprinkles is mostly angry that someone else copied their business plan of selling overpriced cupcakes in little individual boxes. Maybe Starbucks should sue all the other $4-a-cup coffee shops out there.
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But, being a libertarian, I think, "Did they contact the rival and ask them to stop first or offer a compromise?" Not likely in todays litigious state of affairs.
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No Candy
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I'm ashamed to admit that I know about this sort of stuff
High-end cupcakes are big business. These things go for at least $3 each and the tiny storefront routinely has a line that stretches around the block.
Besides being a particular type of sugar rush (i.e,. the frosting has a distinct taste, only certain flavors are available each day), the Sprinkles brand is deeply enmeshed in the town's gifting economy (e.g., "thanks for getting me this audition... have a gift basket"). The national attention from Oprah, etc. has made them into luxury items.
However, not everyone who gives/gets these things actually eats them (carbs are a sin). Therefore, being able to tell just from sight that you're dealing with the authentic article is important. It's pretty much the same as getting a real vs. knock-off designer handbag as a gift - while they're both functionally the same, the knock-off has much less value as a status symbols.
I hate to admit it, but this seems exactly like the "moron in a hurry" test is designed to protect. Moreover, judging from their site, it seems that Famous Cupcakes seems to be setup explicitly as a knock-off.
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Re: I'm ashamed to admit that I know about this sort of stuff
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Differences...
Famous Cupcakes has a swirl icing with a holiday related candy or plastic on top (like most retail grocery stores). Sprinkles is smooth icing with the dot and circle.
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Re: I'm ashamed to admit that I know about this sort of stuff
This is sad.
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You obviously overestimate the ability of our morons here in the USA....
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former" Albert Einstein
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Sprinkles
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better yet, the cupcakes come in three sizes.
do you want the b cup, c cup or DD cup?
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Lol
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@Mike
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Re: @Mike
So yea... this could very well be an abuse of trademark law. However, if you're going to throw out all those assumptions as fact (that another company is copying, people are getting confused, or your unsaid assumption: that they were even the first ones), then yea, it wouldn't be. But you set up your argument with certain assumptions so your conclusion can't be wrong. You're a tricky debater, so while your sentence has a logical conclusion, its your assumptions that are questionable.
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Further proof that humanity just needs to be wiped out
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takes the cake
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Magic 8 Ball Prediction
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Re: Magic 8 Ball Prediction
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disturbing
We knew this day would come. The cupcake wars have begun.
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Man...
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Yes!!
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Those are cupcakes?!
/scarc
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As truncated, this sentence is essentially correct.
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This seems...
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Cupcakes
So the good will that Sprinkles' mark in its cupcake icing creates is exactly what trademark law was designed to protect.
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Hypocrisy strikes again.
You may think a bullseye on a cupcake is insignificant (and I don't appreciate the mockery of this blog) but I'll bet you'll be completely upset if someone stole Techdirt's trademarks and passed it off as their own.
Delete this blog. It doesn't belong on THIS website.
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"And are they starting to sag?"
Ronald J. Riley,
Speaking only on my own behalf.
Affiliations:
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director - www.InventorEd.org - RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow - www.patentPolicy.org
President - Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.
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of morons and trolls...
Second, reading the comments here has become next to impossible with all the patent trolls and their witty banter circling about. Can you finally take your own advice and implement some form of moderation?
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