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Marks and Spencer has succeeded in defending an appeal filed by budget supermarket Aldi over a lookalike Christmas product.
The product in question was a light up gin bottle offered for sale by Aldi over the festive period.
It was M&S’s position that this Aldi product was a copy of M&S’s own light up gin bottle product. M&S’s product had been on sale since 2020 and also included gold flakes which when shaken resembled a snow globe.
When Aldi launched their own product in 2021 which also include the gold flakes, alongside the light feature, M&S took action.
The initial decision made by the UK High Court was issued in 2023 and went in M&S’s favour, deeming the Aldi product to be infringing M&S’s design rights.
Aldi appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, claiming that the initial decision hasn’t properly considered the differences in the product and therefore should be reconsidered.
The matter was considered by Lord Justice Richard Arnold in the Court of Appeal who dismissed the appeal. The judge concluded that the decision of the initial judge was correct when considering the overall impression of Aldi’s product compared to the M&S product.
M&S were therefore successful in defending the appeal and the decision in which the Aldi product needed to be removed from sale.
This is a positive step in many lookalike product disputes that have arisen over the years. It may well deter Aldi from launching other similar products and getting themselves in hot water.
If you would like to know how to protect your brand, then please get in touch with the Trademarkroom team today.
