Thatchers has lost its legal battle against Aldi, with the High Court dismissing its claim that the discounter had breached its cloudy lemon cider trademark.
The High Court ruled that there is “no likelihood of confusion” between Thatchers’ product and Aldi’s Taurus cider.
A spokesperson for the discounter said: “There’s nothing cloudy about this judgement. It’s clear-cut. Aldi exclusive brands are just that: exclusive to Aldi while leading the market on quality and price.”
Judge Melissa Clarke found that the discounter’s lemon cider packaging ultimately had a “low degree of similarity” to Thatchers’ product.
In addition, the court case referenced other third-party lemon-flavoured beverages that used similar packaging, including Alaska cloudy Sicilian lemon premium cider, and Somersby Citrus apple cider.
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Thatchers told Grocery Gazette: “As a Somerset family expertly crafting cider for 120 years, we were compelled to bring this case as we were concerned that the packaging of international retailer Aldi’s product was misleading shoppers due to the strong resemblance to Thatchers Cloudy Lemon Cider.
“We’re disappointed that the Judge didn’t agree with us. Despite the decision not going our way, we still believe taking this action was the right thing to do. We care about creating the perfect cider and thanks to a proud history of four generations of expert cider makers innovating and investing, we have done just that. So we will continue to innovate, producing premium ciders that people want to buy and enjoy.”
The dispute was first brought to court last November after the cider brand accused the discount supermarket of “unfair advantage” by copying its product “in both taste and appearance”.
It is not the first time the grocer has faced accusations of copying another brand’s products. Last year, a court founded that Aldi had infringed M&S’ design of light-up gin bottles.
The supermarkets had previously clashed over the discounter’s caterpillar cake, which M&S claimed was a copycat of its Colin the Caterpillar design, with the dispute eventually settled outside of court.
