Many know the shape of the iconic Coca-Cola bottle, a registered trademark since 1976, serial no. 73088384, the McDonald’s Golden Arches, serial no. 733790054, or the red, white and green waterfall awning of Rita’s Italian Ice, design mark serial no. 75694665. Now the franchisor of Nothing Bundt Cakes is entitled to enjoin others from replicating the unique frosting pattern of a cake. The case is Nothing Bundt Cakes v. Thornton d/b/a All About Bundt Cakes, U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D. Texas (Feb. 22, 2021).

Nothing Bundt Cakes obtained an unopposed injunction against its competitor All About Bundt Cakes from using a similar frosting pattern. Nevertheless the court reviewed the facts and law to support the injunction. Nothing Bundt Cakes is in the business of the production and retail sale of Bundt cakes. It operates over 300 franchise locations throughout the United States and Canada with total enterprise revenues exceeding $100 million annually. Since 1998, the company has continuously used in interstate commerce a unique frosting pattern, which according to their trademark registration at no. 3,526,479, “consists of long, narrow strips of tubular ring-shaped frosting that expand radially outward from the center of each Bundt cake to a point on the outer edge of the cake … applied around the entire perimeter of the Bundt cake’s ring shape.” Here is a  rendering of this frosting pattern:

Rendering of Bundt cake frosting. Image from court documents Rendering of Bundt cake frosting. Image from court documents