Marks and Spencer has filed a lawsuit against Aldi over an allegation that the discount supermarket infringes the trademark of its Colin the Caterpillar cake.
M&S this week filed an intellectual property claim with the High Court over its rival’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar product.
It argues that the similarity of the Aldi product leads consumers to believe they are of the same standard and allows Cuthbert to “ride on the tail” of the reputation of the M&S cake.
M&S wants Aldi to withdraw proceeds from sale
M&S wants Aldi to withdraw the proceeds from the sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.
Colin the Caterpillar, a milk chocolate and buttercream sponge cake topped with chocolate candies and a white chocolate smiley face, was launched about 30 years ago.
Its appearance has remained largely unchanged since around 2004, although there have been special adaptations for events such as Halloween and Christmas.
There have also been spin-offs such as Connie the Caterpillar, which was promoted on Mother’s Day.
Colin is also part of M&S ‘partnership with the Macmillan cancer charity.
The retailer created a Colin product for the annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning fundraising event hosted by the charity.
M&S Said It Is Taking A Targeted Approach To Protecting Its Brand Assets
M&S owns three trademarks related to Colin which, according to the retailer, means Colin has acquired and retains increased distinctiveness and reputation.
A spokesperson said: “Because we know the M&S brand is special to our customers and they expect the best from us, love and care is found in every M&S product on our shelves.
“So we want to protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value.”
Asked why M&S was taking action on this product …
More information about this article Read More
Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-15 11:56:00
