Luxury Chocolatier Threatened By Hershey's Over Kiss Trademark
Filed under: Dining

You wouldn't think that chocolatier Jacques Torres would have to worry about his products catching the eye of Hershey's. But Torres makes a rather delicious confection called the champagne kiss which is chocolate kissed with Taittinger Rose champagne and decorated with a lip print ($57.50 for a box of 50). This caught the attention of the Hershey Company which had their lawyers send Torres a letter claiming that kiss and kisses are Hershey's trademarks and that Torres discontinue the use of the words in connection with his chocolates.
The best part of this story is the reply from Torres's lawyer which NY Magazine's Grub Street has reproduced. It says that Jacques Torres will not discontinue use of the name and that the request is "yet another example of a giant, monolithic corporation attempting to take advantage of 'the little guy,' in this case, a world-renowned artisan from France." The letter goes on to say that the two products could never be confused and that "the analogy might be similar to Chevrolet complaining that Rolls Royce is infringing on the Chevrolet trademark." Certainly it is true that no one is likely to confuse the two products but is a kiss still a kiss? A quick Google search of the phrase "chocolate kisses" pulls up pages of recipes, Hershey products and even a book and a nail polish that use the phrase as titles, but not a sign of Torres's chocolates.



Normally a kiss as a sign of affection is a good thing, but when it happens in an art gallery on a $2.7 million dollar painting it's not only not a good thing -- it's a crime. It happened last Thursday in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Avignon, France. The woman, 30-year-old Sam Rindy, had apparently been admiring a 9'x6' bone white painting by Cy Twombly valued at over £1 million and 

Live from Microsoft's New Generation Xbox event!
Xbox Reveal liveblog on Joystiq
Dozens Killed in Oklahoma Tornado; Death Toll to Rise
Justin Bieber Booed, Gets Standing Ovation at Billboard Music Awards
2013 Billboard Music Awards Best and Worst Dressed
Watch: Kansas Meteorologist Seeks Shelter From Tornado
Xbox One architecture panel liveblog!
Two Pilots Fired After Brazilian Pop Star Takes Captain's Seat Mid-Flight
Oldest Water on Earth Found Deep Underground
2013 Billboard Music Awards: All the Winners!