Sprinkles Has an Ego!

Yesterday I came across this story from the LA Times. Sprinkles has recently taken legal action against a few cupcakeries that have used a similar name and decoration similar to their trademarked dot. They don't want people to confuse their store with another cupcakery.

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John Dickson / santabarbara.com

An opening party in July at Sprinkled Pink Cupcake Couture in Montecito, Calif. The shop has received a letter from Sprinkles of Beverly Hills insisting that it change its name.

Here are a couple of excepts that I found interesting:

Three-year-old Sprinkles most recently set its sugary sights on Sprinkled Pink Cupcake Couture in Montecito. Last week, just one day after Wendy Jones opened her shop, she received a letter from Sprinkles demanding that she change the name of her bakery, which she registered when she got her business license in 2003.

"They're going too far," said Jones, who hasn't decided how to respond to the letter. "I'm sure they're protecting themselves, but there's a whole big United States out there. There's room for other cupcake shops. They shouldn't be bullying around or picking on little people like us. . . . I really honestly don't think they invented the cupcake."

All told, lawyers for Sprinkles said, they have sent about a dozen similar letters to shops around the country and filed three lawsuits, including one last month against Famous Cupcakes in North Hollywood for using dots in its packaging and throughout the store.

"If anyone had ever been to Sprinkles, they would never mistake my store or my cupcakes," Jones said.

That's what the owners of Famous Cupcakes in North Hollywood said, too, after Sprinkles sued them last month for using dots in their packaging and decor.

Sprinkles is being way over protective of themselves. Sure, they want to preserve their image, but come on....most cupcakes look very similar. It is actually the taste that will set them apart!