In this war of words… Aldi has an Army of Caterpillars

We’ve just learned that the collective noun for caterpillars is an army: who knew?

We are all now aware of the recent dispute between supermarket giants Marks & Spencer and Aldi concerning Colin and Cuthbert the caterpillars. However since Marks & Spencer brought a claim for trade mark infringement and passing off against Aldi for its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake, the matter has received a lot of publicity, including from our own Niall Head-Rapson and Adam Turley.

Many discussions will have undoubtedly taken place regarding this dispute. But to add fuel to an already fiery flame, Aldi has engaged in a social media campaign which has taken non-Court strategies for dealing with IP Infringement to a new level in the hope of freeing Cuthbert. Aldi’s use of twitter to promote its case for Cuthbert has been brought with a comical twist which has included several memes including Cuthbert standing trial and Cuthbert behind bars. Marks & Spencer’s social media team have since responded to Aldi’s social media antics by tweeting “Hey @AldiUK we love a charity idea (Colin’s been a BIG fundraiser for years). We just want you to use your own character. How about #kevinthecarrotcake? That idea’s on us… and we promise we won’t do Keith”.

Without being able to see the legal arguments deployed by Marks & Spencer in its claim, the general public will at least be entertained by the self-promotion by Aldi which may or may not help free Cuthbert. Whether we will see a similar agreement to that of Aldi and Brewdog that resulted in the modern brewer supplying “ALD IPA” remains to be seen.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.