On Wednesday, at London’s High Court, German discount supermarket Lidl won a trademark dispute against Britain’s largest retailer, Tesco (TSCO.L).
Lidl sued Tesco in 2020 because Tesco promoted its “Clubcard Prices” discount scheme with a yellow circle on a blue backdrop.
Tesco’s Clubcard Price plan is promoted in stores, sometimes adjacent to reduced products.
Judge Joanna Smith said on Wednesday that Tesco had “taken unfair advantage of the distinctive reputation” of Lidl’s trademarks for low costs.
The judge rejected Lidl’s claim that Tesco had “the deliberate subjective intention of riding on Lidl’s coattails.”
A Lidl representative said, “We are pleased that the court has agreed with us and that it will now order Tesco to stop using the Clubcard logo.”
Tesco plans to appeal the verdict, which a representative said was “just about the colour and shape of the Clubcard Prices logo.”
Tesco said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the ruling, which “has no impact on our Clubcard Prices scheme which we will continue to run in exactly the same way.”
During a February trial, the two corporations accused one other of duplicating brands and manipulating customers.
Tesco’s lawyers accused Lidl of hypocrisy and said it replicated the branding of well-known products like Oreo cookies. Lidl claimed that Tesco duplicated its trademark to trick customers into thinking its costs are equal.
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