Mattel sues over Nicki Minaj’s Barbie-Que snacks

completemusicupdate.com:

Toy maker Mattel has sued snack company Rap Snack over its Nicki Minaj-themed Barbie-Que Honey Truffle potato chips. Or crisps if you prefer.

Mattel, of course, owns the trademark for Barbie dolls and says that that mark is very much being infringed here.Minaj – who refers to herself as Barbie and her fanbase as The Barbz – launched the snack in June via a partnership with Rap Snacks.

At the time, CEO James Lindsay insisted that this was “the beginning of a legendary partnership”. Although, presumably, he wasn’t hoping that the legend would mainly be the story about that time they were sued by a massive toy brand.In its legal action, Mattel is claiming that – when launching the Minaj endorsed crisps – Rap Snacks “made the deliberate and calculated choice to launch a new product line using Mattel’s famous Barbie trademark”.Indeed, the typography on the Barbie-Que snack packs is similar – arguable identical – to that in the official Barbie logo.

Mattel says that “Rap Snacks never requested or received any such permission [and] proceeded to launch its product line anyway using the packaging”.The toy company says that it has previously contacted Rap Snacks demanding that it cease using the Barbie trademark and issue “corrective advertising”, but neither has come to fruition.