Aldi and Marks & Spencer have found themselves back in court yet again following Aldi’s appeal of the High Court decision which ruled it had infringed Marks & Spencer’s design rights.
Back in December 2022, we reported on the design right dispute between supermarket giants Aldi and Marks & Spencer over their festive gin liqueur bottles. The matter was back in court in February on appeal by Aldi. The hearing comes just weeks after the recent trade mark dispute between Aldi & Thatchers Cider.
The High Court originally found that Aldi’s product failed to produce a different overall impression on the informed user when compared to Marks & Spencer’s own registered designs. The similarities between the respective products included identical bottle shapes, integrated lights, a winter theme and edible snowflakes. The similarities have been described as ‘striking’.
The appeal court has upheld the High Court decision ruling Aldi has infringed Marks & Spencer’s rights. This is not the first time that Aldi and M&S have faced each other in intellectual property disputes, as the two parties were also involved in the highly publicised Colin the Caterpillar dispute back in 2022. It is to be seen if we see the supermarket giants’ in court again in the future.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
