Wisconsin Chocolate-Maker Being Sued by Mars Candy Company

A Wisconsin chocolate-maker has more to worry about than just the normal rush of Easter orders. She's being sued by the Mars Candy Company for trademark infringement. 

CocoVaa, a shop in Madison, is the defendant in this lawsuit. The plaintiff? Mars Incorporated, the candy giant. The reason for the lawsuit is that Mars Inc contends that CocoVaa has infringed on their trademark. Mars as a similarly named product: CocoVia.

The owner of CocoVaa says that's completely out of line. In fact, she already had her trademark on CocoVaa approved at the federal level. She says that she had never even heard of the Mars product which is actually marketed as a nutritional supplement.

She says CocoVaa is a combination of Coco for chocolate and Vaa which is a nickname her dad has for her.

"So, putting them together, CocoVaa was a very intentional process motivated really by wanting to create a brand that looks catchy and rolls off the tongue nice but is also very personal to me and my family. CocoVaa is my name," Said Syovata Edari, CocoVaa Chocolatier. 

CocoVaa actually had a huge weekend for business last week after the lawsuit was publicized. Supports quadrupled business in that time. Now though, the owner of CocoVaa has to work on answering that lawsuit.