Angry British chocolate-lovers have vented their anger at a lawsuit brought by Hershey's, which effectively bars the import of chocolates made in the U.K. by Cadbury—a British brand well-loved by expats.

Using the hashtag #boycotthershey, fans of Cadbury products, such as the iconic Dairy Milk bars and Cadbury Creme Eggs, called for a boycott of the American chocolate giant on Twitter and Facebook. A protest petition on MoveOn.org had over 22,000 signatures by 1 p.m. GMT on Wednesday.

It comes after Hershey's, which holds a license to manufacture Cadbury chocolates in the U.S., agreed on a settlement with the New-Jersey-based importer of Cadbury chocolates, Let's Buy British (LBB). As first reported in The New York Times, Hershey's accused the company of infringing its brand trademark rights and importing U.K. products that were not intended for sale in the U.S.

Cadbury chocolate has been banned in the US. Bad news for my family & friends: I'm moving. #BoycottHershey



Last week, LBB agreed to stop shipments of any Cadbury products made in the U.K. to the U.S.—much to the consternation of many expat Brits, who insist that Cadbury chocolate tastes better (despite Cadbury being owned by U.S. food giant Kraft Foods' snacks business Mondelez).

