High street giant M&S has filed legal documents to the High Court against Aldi for the second time – this time claiming the budget supermarket has ‘copied’ one of its most popular drinks.
Marks & Spencer is this time taking Aldi to court over its Light-Up Gin.
Three varieties of M&S’ Light-Up gin were registered as designs earlier this year – and M&S filed the documents against Aldi on December 3.
M&S argues the designs of Aldi’s gold flake clementine gin liqueur and gold flake blackberry gin liqueur are “strikingly similar” to its own.
The legal documents state that Aldi’s products “constitute designs which do not produce on the informed user a different overall impression to the [M&S] designs.”
Marks & Spencer says that a shopper ‘who is interested in purchasing liqueur during the Christmas period’ may be unable to recognise the difference between the two bottles.
The papers include registered design images of M&S’s Light Up gin.
A list of features M&S says are protected include the shape of the bottle, an integrated light feature, gold leaf flakes and a winter forest graphic.
It also wants Aldi to destroy or hand over anything constituting a potential breach of the injunction and an inquiry into damages arising from the alleged infringement.
An M&S spokesperson said: “‘Our customers have confidence in our products because they trust our quality and sourcing standards, so we will always seek to protect our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value – and protect our customers from obvious copies.”
