Hershey Co. posts win by default in federal ‘cybersquatting’ lawsuit against Ukranian firm

Hershey Co. West Hershey chocolate plant tour

The Hershey Company's West Hershey plant. October 24, 2018. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com PENNLIVE.COMPENNLIVE.COM

A federal judge has granted The Hershey Company a victory by default against a Ukrainian chocolate maker Hershey accused of “cybersquatting” on its famed “KISSES” trademark.

The target of the suit, AnyKiss, never replied to the trademark-infringement lawsuit Hershey filed in April 2018, so U.S. Middle District Senior Judge Yvette Kane gave the midstate-based firm the win in the dispute.

KISSES has been Hershey's intellectual property since 1907, 13 years after Milton Hershey founded the firm. Hershey claimed AnyKiss began cybersquatting three years ago by using the domain name “kisschocalaterie.com.”

Cybersquatting occurs when one business tries to capitalize on the good name of another by using a domain name is so close to that of the victim that customers are confused. That is prohibited under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Hershey contended that AnyKiss tried unsuccessfully to register its KISS Chocolaterie mark with the U.S. Patent Office in 2016, and that the filing was rejected "based on confusion with the KISSES marks."

Kane awarded Hershey more than $141,000 in damages and legal fees. She ordered AnyKiss to stop imitating Hershey trademarks or products in any way and to remove infringing social media posts. The kisschocalaterie.com domain name must be transferred to Hershey as well, the judge ruled.

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