February 06, 2015

Guest Post! Bitter Truth Behind the Cadbury Chocolate Import Ban

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Written by Stephen Weyer, editor of our brother-blog OP-IP. Check it out at http://op-ip-law.blogspot.com/.

United States' lovers of authentic, original British Cadbury chocolate will have to book a flight to the UK to enjoy the cherished confection. Hershey's, manufacturing licensee of Cadbury's

chocolate in the U.S., uses a different recipe than the one Cadbury uses in the UK. Not surprising to many, the first ingredient to Hersey's made U.S. Cadbury chocolate is sugar, whereas milk is the first ingredient in Briton-made Cadbury. Chocolate connoisseurs say that Briton-made Cadbury chocolate tastes creamer and is smother than U.S. Cadbury chocolate made by Hersey's. These British chocolate aficionados argue that U.S. Cadbury chocolate is pure humbug.

Hershey's was concerned that if Briton-made Cadbury chocolate, made with a different recipe, was imported into the U.S., Americans would be confused and mislead by two different chocolate experiences. As the U.S. trademark licensee of Cadbury, Hersey's believes that two different tasting chocolate would negatively affect its licensed intellectual property.

However, as a lover of chocolate, might there not be a middle ground betwixt unrestricted Briton-made Cadbury flooding into the U.S. and a complete abolition of the milky-sweet delight? Can't we have our cake and eat it too? Options include special labeling of U.S. imported Briton-made Cadbury chocolate so that unsuspecting U.S. consumers who like their current U.S. (Hersey's made) Cadbury chocolate will not be confused with Briton-made Cadbury chocolate.