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Hershey's Taking Potshots at the Little Guy

Ah... hah hah :)

Quote:

Candy giant sues purveyor of pot treats

CanWest News Service
168 words
05/22/2007
Edmonton Journal
Final
A8
English
Copyright © 2007 Edmonton Journal
SAN JOSE, Calif.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- It was a big enough bummer for Kenneth Affolter when he was sentenced to more than five years in prison for making pot-laced treats and soft drinks.

Now he faces the wrath of a candy giant.

The Hershey Co. has sued Affolter, 40, for giving his marijuana goodies names like Stoney Rancher, Rasta Reese's and Keef Kat. Each came in packaging similar to Hershey's Jolly Rancher, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Kit Kat candies, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said.

Hershey's suit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in San Jose, accuses Affolter of trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition. The company is seeking $100,000 US in damages.

Papers were served on Affolter on Tuesday while he was in a county jail awaiting transfer to state prison.

Affolter's lawyer, David Michael, said he is negotiating with Hershey.

Hershey is doing this under the guise of setting an example to drug dealers, but from a practical standpoint, it will cost much more than $100K to prosecute this from a Plaintiff's standpoint and I doubt a California jury would really buy the argument that this guy diluted their brand. If it is a bench trial, who knows. Not up on my trademark inf. damages.

Unfair competition? Just which Hershey products was our erstwhile ganja entrepreneur competing against? This is going to result in a spate of hippies running around with chocolate smeared all over their lips. Gross.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulC (Post 1514110)

Yeah talk about stupid lawsuit--if anything, discouraging marijuana use will make Hershey stock go down a lot faster than this guy.

I think it's because Hershey can't figure out how to come up with something that satisfies the munchies.

This is trademark enforcement to the extreme. Companies have to do this or they will be allowing "implied consent". This is why companies don't want their trademarks becoming a verb such as "google", kleenex, etc. Once that happens, it becomes public domain.

Even if they win, it will take them a long time to collect, when you attach somebody's prison wages of $1.11 per hour making license plates.

Isn't this the same outfit that just closed one of their factories in California and moved it to Mexico?

Their chocolote is waaaay to sweet and greasy. The Swiss and Peruvian chocolates taste so much nicer than Hershey's junk.

Reminds me of the Mike Myers and Nicole Kidman sketch on SLN....The Hypo Chocolate Kid.

Too bad NBC pulled it from YouTube.

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