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In 1964, Roldahl published Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a children's novel that introduced the world to eccentric chocolateeer Willie Wonka.

A 1971 film adaptation starring Gene Wilder further established the character as a pop culture icon, an entrenched visual language for doll's fantastical world,

with its chocolate river and diminutive, orange-skinned and green-haired umpalumpas.

The Wonkaverse and the greater doll canon persists in the public consciousness more than three decades after the author's

death in 1990. So much so that Universal created a new chocolate factory IP, both similar enough to

attract crowds, but distinct enough to evade litigation, in the same way that a Jay Leno mask may

be sold at a

Spirit Halloween store with a label talk show host. But although conceived with plausible

deniability, just after the Coco-themed restaurant's August 2016 opening at Universal CityWalk

Orlando, the company was in fact sued. Not by the Dahl Estate, nor by Wonka Film IP holder Warner Brothers, nor by

Wonka candy license holder Nestle, but rather by Adam Limley, an Ohio-based entrepreneur who

claimed to have pitched the idea to Universal nearly a decade prior. The $40 million lawsuit was

ultimately decided in Universal's favor, and Limley was forced to cover the multinational's legal

fees. Orlando-based law firm Johnson Moss points to the case as an illustrative lesson,

quote, protect your ideas before you disclose them with a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement,

end quote. But although the concept survived and expanded, now with the triforce of outposts

bordering universal theme parks in Hollywood, Orlando, and expanded, now with the Triforce of outposts bordering universal

theme parks in Hollywood, Orlando, and Beijing. In December of 2024, as a cost-saving measure,

the company announced its two walk-around characters, gender-swapped Wanka analog Penelope

...