Marks & Spencer (M&S) sues Aldi, accusing Cuthbert the Caterpillar of violating its Colin the Caterpillar brand, BBC reports, quoted by News.ro
M&S claims that the similarity of the two products leads consumers to believe that they have the same standard and benefits from its reputation.
M&S filed a lawsuit this week over intellectual property in the High Court.
The supermarket asks Aldi to remove the product from the sale and never sell anything like it again.
He owns three Colin brands, which, in his opinion, has a distinctive character and reputation.
The product was launched 30 years ago, and the way it looks has not changed substantially since 2004, except for Halloween and Christmas adaptations and similar products, such as Connie the Caterpillar.
“We know how special the M&S brand is for our customers and that they expect only the best from us (…). Thus, we want to protect Colin, Connie and protect our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value, “said a spokesman.
Colin is at the center of a cancer partnership with the Macmillan charity, and M&S has created a Colin product for the annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning fundraising event.
The cake is a sponge cake with milk, chocolate and butter cream, covered in chocolate and with a smiling face.
M&S is the first retailer to sell a caterpillar-shaped cake, and many other supermarkets have created similar products: Waitrose – Cecil, Sainsbury – Wiggles, Tesco – Curly and Asda – Clyde the Caterpillar.
–
