Sprinkles is frosted over cupcake newcomer Sprinkled Pink

Beverly Hills-based Sprinkles -- pioneer of the cupcake-only shop and purveyor of miniature morsels beloved by celebrities -- is turning up the heat on competitors allegedly treading on its trademarked name and dot motif.

Three-year-old Sprinkles most recently set its sugary sights on Sprinkled Pink Cupcake Couture in Montecito. Last week, just one day after Wendy Jones opened her shop, she received a letter from Sprinkles demanding that she change the name of her bakery, which she registered when she got her business license in 2003.

"They're going too far," said Jones, who hasn't decided how to respond to the letter. "I'm sure they're protecting themselves, but there's a whole big United States out there. There's room for other cupcake shops. They shouldn't be bullying around or picking on little people like us. . . . I really honestly don't think they invented the cupcake."

All told, lawyers for Sprinkles said, they have sent about a dozen similar letters to shops around the country and filed three lawsuits, including one last month against Famous Cupcakes in North Hollywood for using dots in its packaging and throughout the store.

The trademarked "modern dot," a circle-in-a-circle piece of candy that sits atop every Sprinkles cupcake, helps eaters tell the difference between flavors like lemon coconut and red velvet.

The dot, along with Sprinkles' trademarked name, are the chain's meal ticket, said attorney John Slafsky. Both have been copied "countless times" around the U.S. and in Britain, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and Dubai. Only in the most egregious cases has Sprinkles taken action, he said.

"The law says that if you're a trademark owner you have a duty to enforce your rights," Slafsky said. "These are small-business people themselves. They've worked really, really hard to build a successful business, and it's frustrating for them when other folks feel comfortable copying their original creations and their original brands."

Magnolia Bakery in New York kicked off the gourmet cupcake craze earlier this decade, and when Charles and Candace Nelson opened Sprinkles in 2005, they brought the fervor to the West Coast. Since then, Sprinkles has expanded to Newport Beach, Dallas and Scottsdale, Ariz., and has several more stores in the works.