Back in April we reported on the High Court battle between supermarket giants Tesco and Lidl. The dispute centred around Tesco’s use of a yellow circle on a blue background to advertise its Clubcard prices. The Judge ruled in favour of Lidl claiming Tesco had “taken unfair advantage of its [Lidl’s] distinctive reputation”. The plot has since thickened in a hearing heard last week, namely, Tesco has failed to convince the Judge that damages is a sufficient remedy in this case and the Judge has granted a final injunction preventing Tesco from using the logo. In reaching a decision, the Judge took into account Tesco’s behaviour and the several Part 36 offers (a form of offer used to settle all or part of a dispute between parties) made by Lidl to which Tesco ignored. The injunction will not take effect until all appeals in this case have been resolved. Tesco will then have nine weeks to remove all of the infringing logos. It is thought the rebranding could set Tesco back a staggering £8 million. This matter demonstrates the importance of the parties considering the overriding objective (enabling the court to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost) and each party’s obligation to try and reach an amicable solution out of court. Perhaps if Tesco had engaged more seriously in settlement discussions and the relevant offers to settle, it wouldn’t have been punished so harshly. 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. in: Case Law, EU/International, Legal News, News, Trade Marks
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