Eleven bakery and cake-related businesses in Singapore have publicly apologised to Sanrio after admitting to trademark and copyright infringement involving counterfeit character products.
According to a public apology notice published in local newspapers on 3 October 2026, the businesses acknowledged that they had sold, offered for sale, displayed for sale and possessed counterfeit Sanrio products for trade purposes. The notice also said the matter involved Sanrio trademarks and artistic works.
The Products Involved Sanrio Characters
The apology notice involved characters including Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin, Kuromi, Gudetama, Pochacco, My Melody and Little Twin Stars.
For context, these are not just cute drawings you can plonk onto a cake because your customer’s child likes Kuromi.
Character designs and names can be protected by intellectual property rights, including trademarks and copyright. In Singapore, IPOS says copyright can be infringed when a third party uses or copies a copyright work without permission or a licence.
Sanrio also states on its own intellectual property information page that products made with counterfeit merchandise bought from another source are illegal.
Businesses Said They Would Stop Such Conduct
In the joint apology, the 11 businesses acknowledged that trademark infringement, counterfeiting and copyright infringement seriously violated the rights of trademark and copyright owners.
They also apologised to Sanrio and undertook to stop the conduct and not repeat similar acts in future.
According to 8world, the businesses have paid compensation to Sanrio. However, the apology notice did not disclose the number of counterfeit products involved, how long the infringement lasted, or how much compensation was paid.
8world also reported that some related character products were still visible on the businesses’ websites, but were marked as sold out. The listings reportedly carried disclaimers saying the businesses had no association, partnership, authorisation, endorsement or official relationship with the companies behind the registered trademark characters.
Counterfeit Goods Can Be a Serious Matter
This is not the first time Sanrio-linked counterfeit goods have surfaced in Singapore.
In June 2026, a Singapore company was fined S$13,000 and its director was sentenced to eight months’ jail after more than 2,000 counterfeit Sanrio products were sold at three stores, according to earlier reports.
Separately, the Singapore Police Force has previously reminded the public that distributing and selling counterfeit goods are serious offences. In a 2025 advisory, SPF said importing, selling or distributing goods with falsely applied trademarks under the Trade Marks Act can carry a fine of up to S$100,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
For bakeries and cake shops, the takeaway is quite straightforward: even if a cake is handmade, edible and ordered for a private birthday party, using famous characters commercially can still create legal problems if there is no permission from the rights owner.
Cute cake, not-so-cute lawyer letter.
