Janice R. Andrews
Aldi and Marks & Spencer are involved in a legal dispute that is similar to their recent experience with the Colin the Caterpillar cake. This time, the argument centers on a festive gin bottle with an illuminated feature and gold flakes on it. The Court of Appeal is going to make a decision over the future of Aldi’s light-up gin bottle as the two retail behemoths begin round two of their legal battle.
This legal battle began in 2021 when Marks and Spencer filed a lawsuit against Aldi alleging intellectual property violations. The point of contention? An intriguing light-up container and gold flakes adorn this gin liqueur that Aldi debuted. Under the Registered Designs Act of 1949, Marks and Spencer, the claimant, claimed that Aldi’s goods violated its design rights.
The story started in 2020 with the launch of a range of gin-based liqueurs by Marks & Spencer, created especially for the holiday season. These bottles had festive embellishments that added to their visual appeal, and within were gold flakes. The gold flakes produced a spectacular visual impact when they were agitated and got suspended in the liquid. An LED in the bottle base added to the attraction by illuminating the contents and boosting the overall attractiveness.
A year later, Aldi made its debut on the market with a line of its own gin liqueurs. Like Marks & Spencer’s version, Aldi’s had a distinctive light-up container with gold flakes. Not unexpectedly, Marks & Spencer claimed that Aldi’s design was remarkably similar to their own, which set to a legal dispute over intellectual property rights.
The ‘look-alike’ claims were exhaustively scrutinized during the first judicial procedures before the High Court. In February of last year, the court rendered a decision declaring that Marks & Spencer’s design was superior than Aldi’s in terms of overall image. As a result, the court determined that Aldi’s designs violated the registered designs, ruling in favor of Marks and Spencer.
Unfazed, Aldi has now challenged this ruling, and the Court of Appeal is currently handling the issue. The session is expected to last six hours, and Lord Justices Lewison, Moylan, and Arnold will preside over it.
These retail behemoths have already engaged in legal disputes before. They settled a long-running disagreement over the renowned Colin the Caterpillar cake in February 2022. As a consequence of the settlement, Aldi changed the appearance of Cuthbert the Caterpillar, its doppelganger.
The outcome of this lawsuit might have long-lasting effects on the retail industry’s intellectual property environment as the courtroom drama plays out. The controversy serves as a reminder of the continuous struggles in the retail industry for dominance in design as well as the strategic value of safeguarding distinctive product attributes.
