A sweet pastry created last summer is at the center of an intellectual property dispute.

Manteconchas are described as a hybrid pastry, bringing together two staples of Mexican bakeries: mantecadas, a type of muffin that comes in a cupcake paper cup, and conchas, a sweet bread roll with a crunchy and even sweeter topping.

The most recent addition to Mexico’s long list of pastries was created fortuitously by the son of a baker couple in Querétaro.

Josué Rivera Arriaga was pouring pan de muerto (bread of the dead) dough into cupcake cups when the idea dawned on him to do the same with a concha.

Instant fame for the young Rivera’s creation was assured in a country that eats sweet bread almost every day.

But the sweet success turned sour when bakery giant Bimbo and other parties attempted to register the manteconcha name in order to sell the pastry exclusively.

However, Bimbo withdrew its trademark request in August, stating that it no longer intended to bake or sell the product so as to “avoid wrong interpretations.”

The owners of the El Manantial bakery and Rivera’s parents, Leticia Arriaga Esqueda and Salvador Rivera Trejo, themselves filed a trademark request before IMPI, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, on August 30.

According to IMPI files consulted by the newspaper El Universal, there are two other trademark requests pending for the manteconcha name.

A specialist on brand registration explained that the Riveras will likely be granted the trademark because there is proof that the pastry originated in their bakery.

“There are . . . videos, news stories . . . that reported their invention on August 10,” said Gerardo Sánchez Vallejo. He said the process could conclude favorably for the Rivera family after four to six months.

The original manteconcha can be purchased from its inventors at El Manantial, Bronce 109, El Progreso, Querétaro.

Source: El Universal (sp)