Monday, Jul. 22, 1991

Business Notes Trademarks

The chubby white Pillsbury Doughboy, who has been getting poked in the belly for 25 years, never ceases to find it amusing. But he sees nothing funny in the antics and appearance of Drox, the new character being used by Sunshine Biscuits to promote Hydrox cookies. In a lawsuit, Pillsbury claims that Drox looks and sounds too much like the trademark Doughboy. The suit describes Drox, who appears on cookie packages and in TV commercials, as "a two-legged, puffy white voiced character." When it comes to pudgy pitchmen, the Doughboy has at least one other colleague -- the sixtysomething Michelin Man. But apparently the baking business isn't big enough for two roly-poly guys to coexist peacefully.