Who WOULDN’T confuse a couch with a Hershey bar?

A company named Art Van Furniture is asking its customers which of ten proposed designs it should use for its delivery trucks. One of them shows a couch emerging from what looks like a big candy bar's wrapper. Cute and harmless, no?

Not according to Hershey. They're filing a lawsuit against Art Van, claiming that the design is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace. Like people are going to think that Art Van's couches are made out of chocolate?

When people talk about "frivolous lawsuits," this should be the kind of thing they're referring to.

Chocolate/Couch

Posted on Tue Oct 21, 2008


Comments

Mmmm, that couch looks good...
Posted by Sarah  in  PDX  on  Tue Oct 21, 2008  at  06:10 PM
I'm a little insulted that Hershey thinks I would be so highly confused by this.

I should write a sternly worded letter.
Posted by Maegan  in  Tampa, FL - USA  on  Tue Oct 21, 2008  at  08:07 PM
Even after knowing that Hershey says the couch design looks like their candy bar, I still don't see it. At all.

Oh, and I voted for that design on the Art Van website. smile
Posted by Seamyst  on  Tue Oct 21, 2008  at  09:52 PM
http://www.artvan.com/

You can easily go to the voting link, it's labeled as "win a $50 gas card" with a shadow truck bearing a question mark on the side.

I voted for the yummy looking leather coach, too.
Posted by Her She  in  PA  on  Tue Oct 21, 2008  at  09:59 PM
According to the original story I linked to, Art Van modified the candy bar illustration after Hershey bitched about it, changing it from brown to red. Red or brown, I think Hershey is out of their friggin' corporate mind to argue that people will confuse a couch with their candy.
Posted by Cranky Media Guy  on  Wed Oct 22, 2008  at  01:08 AM
It doesn't even look like a Hershey bar.
Posted by PlantPerson  on  Wed Oct 22, 2008  at  05:32 AM
Okay...I actually called Hershey...and told them that I was insulted that as "the public" I am so stupid I couldn't see that the furniture company was simply trying to portray a piece of furniture like a dessert, or sweet treat waiting to be unwrapped. They were really nice about it. They said my comments would be passed to marketing. Oh well. My has-too-much-time-on-her-hands deed for the day. smile
Posted by Maegan  in  Tampa, FL - USA  on  Wed Oct 22, 2008  at  07:26 AM
I am actually impressed Maegan that you called. Good for you.
Posted by floormaster squeeze  on  Wed Oct 22, 2008  at  11:46 AM
When will Hershey introduce its new line of edible chocolate couches?
Posted by Big Gary  in  Tool, Texas  on  Wed Oct 22, 2008  at  05:56 PM
Big Gary - Just as long as they don't introduce a chocolate toilet seat.
Posted by Madd Maxx  in  New Orleans  on  Thu Oct 23, 2008  at  10:59 AM
I voted for B the woman on the couch. I also like their selection of living room furniture.
Posted by Ole Blue  in  Fort Worth Tx  on  Thu Oct 23, 2008  at  11:03 AM
I accidentally ate a couch once. There was a chocolate bar sitting beside it and I confused the two.
Posted by AqueousBoy  on  Fri Oct 24, 2008  at  07:33 AM
If you go to the Art Van Furniture website, the hershey-like logo is no longer an option. Apparently Hershey was enough of a pain that changing the color wasn't good enough, and Art Van caved... Sad, I liked that one!
Posted by bookwyrm  in  Seattle  on  Tue Oct 28, 2008  at  04:06 PM
Ah, but you ignore one of the most important aspects of trademark law. If you don't defend your trademark, you actually give up the trademark. This is why you see what seems to be such silly lawsuits. The candy bar in this case uses design elements of Hershey wrappers. If they let this one go - I can then design an actual candy bar wrapper that is similar to theirs. When they sue me, I can point to this case as them abandoning their trademark - and I win.
Posted by Don  on  Thu Oct 30, 2008  at  11:39 AM
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