Food Truck Selling ‘Black Thunder’ Crepes Called Out Repeatedly Over Logo Use

Background and Key Points of the Debate

Trademarks come in different forms — a “word mark,” which protects the text itself, and a “3D (shape) mark,” which protects a container or shape. The Pocky example cited in the thread is closer to a 3D shape trademark, so uses that merely mimic the shape tend not to cause problems. Candies whose names are registered as word marks are a different story, though. The point raised in the thread — that putting a product’s actual name or package image on a sign or menu is likely to be seen as implying an unauthorized brand partnership — is a fair one. That said, Yuraku, the maker of Black Thunder, hasn’t issued any official statement on this particular case, and the customer’s comments were just one person’s personal take. Using a ready-made candy or snack as-is in a food product is extremely common in the restaurant industry, and the thread doesn’t really surface where the line actually gets drawn on what’s acceptable — that murkier background is easy to miss in the back-and-forth.