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The Claimant Thatcher learned that the Defendant (Aldi) had begun to market a hazy lemon cider product (referred to as “the Aldi Product”) in or around June 2022. A picture of a 4-can box of the product is shown below.
It is fairly common in the industry for similar products to be Benchmarked.
“Benchmarking”
The industry identifies a “benchmark” product—which is usually a market leader in the grocery world and then detecting a gap in the market, decides to manufacture a similar product. Benchmarking against an existing product is a fully normal approach in the market and has been for years when it comes to retailers’ and manufacturers’ product development.
The Judge in the case found in favour of Aldi and held that there was no neither a likelihood of confusion nor a claim for passing off. The decision has had mixed results some in favour some not but in my view it is just about the right decision.
The decision can be found here
Thatchers Cider Company Ltd v Aldi Stores Ltd [2024] EWHC 88 (IPEC) (24 January 2024) (bailii.org)
Michael Coyle
tmr@trademarkroom.com
