Disney, Marvel et al sue cake frosting firm

Disney, Lucasfilm, Marvel and Sanrio are suing a Michigan based company and its owners for selling cakes featuring images of trademarked characters.

A lawsuit filed in California alleges that Wilson Cake Imaging and its proprietors - George and Danielle Wilson - are selling frosting and edible cake sheets via an eBay store that copy images of well-known characters from Star Wars, the Avengers and Sanrio's Hello Kitty range.

While corporations of that size may turn a blind eye to the activities of Mom and Pop bakeries creating cakes based on the images, they insist Wilson Cake Imaging is operating a large-scale business that

The complaint notes that the Wilsons are manufacturing and/or selling and distributing "unlicensed and counterfeit edible cake frosting sheets and related items, which incorporate unauthorised likenesses of animated or live action characters or other logos owned by plaintiffs."

A scan through the company's eBay store today revealed hundreds of listings for edible image toppers - in a range of sizes - with the storefront boasting that the company has a design database of thousands of images.

"Despite previous service of a cease and desist letter and the acknowledged receipt by defendants … ongoing and unauthorised activity continues," says the suit, which is seeking an injunction on the activity as well as damages and seizure of any profits made from the unlicensed goods.