Allegations of copyright infringement have undermined a high-profile attempt to sell a renowned coffee-flavored Italian dessert in Tokyo.
Hero’s opened in Tokyo’s Omotesando neighborhood on Jan. 20, offering various tiramisu flavors inside Instagram-friendly mason jars decorated with illustrations of superhero-style cats. In another universe, the launch of such an establishment would be placed alongside other quirky Harajuku culinary footnotes that also include rainbow cotton candy and drinks served in faux light bulbs.
However, Hero’s immediately found itself embroiled in controversy. Internet users noticed that the new store’s name, logo and primary product bore a resemblance to Singaporean tiramisu staple The Tiramisu Hero, which has been going strong since 2012 and even has a presence in Japan, albeit via an occasional pop-up store and an online shop through Rakuten.