Lookalike IP disputes on the rise

Not wanting to miss out on the festive fun, M&S brought a further claim against Aldi. This time alleging infringement of a design that the retailer had registered for its light-up, snow globe, gin bottle. Whilst similar bottles have been available for some time M&S allege that Aldi’s blackberry and clementine gin liqueur is “strikingly similar” to its registered design and “do not produce on the informed user a different overall impression to the [M&S] designs”.

In recent days it has been reported that Cuthbert has been freed and M&S and Aldi have settled their caterpillar dispute. We don’t yet (and probably never will) know the terms of the settlement but Aldi are understood to be releasing a new version of their Cuthbert cake in the near future.

Indeed, whilst M&S have frequently been the aggrieved party in such disputes, it has recently been reported that they are on the receiving end of a claim by French clothing brand Lacoste. Lacoste are famous for their crocodile logo and have, reportedly, brought a claim against M&S for infringement of their various trade marks as a result of M&S using depictions of crocodiles on various clothing and bedding.

We await, with interest, the outcome of the two remaining claims (and how Cuthbert looks when he is released). If you have any questions about copycat issues, or any of the other articles in Ownership, the please contact our expert intellectual property team for a ‘snappy’ response!