Tesco has won the right to appeal over claims Lidl ripped off its trademark yellow circle against a blue background in “bad faith”.
The dispute revolves around Tesco’s logo which is used to promote its Clubcard Prices, and Lidl’s primary emblem, which both feature yellow circles on a blue background.
The UK’s leading retailer was given the appeal by the London Court of Appeal on Wednesday after Tesco first accused Lidl of “bad faith” in June.
Tesco first filed a counterclaim against the German supermarket last year, in response to its lawsuit which said Tesco was trying “to ride on its coat-tails” by using a similar logo to promote its “Clubcard Prices” scheme.
Tesco argued that Lidl registered a trademark of its logo without its name as a “legal weapon” to support the symbol over its more widely used logo.
A lower court dismissed Tesco’s case on bad faith in June, and Tesco’s full counterclaim is due to be heard at the High Court early next year.
“We are pleased with today’s decision. We continue to deny and strongly defend this claim and remain very confident of our position for trial next year,” said a Tesco spokesperson.
Lidl said: “This appeal is only a small procedural aspect of the case, and we remain confident in the outcome of the trial in 2023.”
