#FreeCuthbert #Round2

M&S Vs Aldi. They’re at it again but the culprit this time is….. wait for it……Aldi’s copycat light up gin! Ima-GIN-e that?!? Starting yet another battle before the last one is even resolved!  The M&S legal team seem to be clocking up the hours, that’s for sure!

Photo by Marques Thomas @querysprout.com on Unsplash

What’s all the fuss about this time?

M&S are taking Aldi to court over a bottle of gin. The shape of the bottle, the strikingly similar graphics, the floating gold leaf flakes, the light feature etc etc (you get the picture!). Are M&S just ticked off because Aldi are selling their version for £6 less than theirs? Yes, of course. That’s not all, though. M&S claim that customers are being misled to believe that Aldi’s gin is the same standard as theirs. We can definitely think of one way to resolve that, but we’ll reserve judgement until after the Christmas break. Seriously though, it’s a matter of reputation and it’s clear M&S do not enjoy being associated with Aldi in any way.

Also, we can’t work out why M&S have singled out just Aldi, but that’s a blog for another day.

What do M&S want?

An injunction, to stop Aldi doing anything further to infringe any of its protected designs. It doesn’t end there, though. M&S want Aldi to hand back any products that they think are in breach and want an investigation into any damages they may be owed.

What was Aldi’s official response?

They’re Colin their lawyers. Makes sense if you ask us.

Tend Legal, London.