Thatchers looks to overturn Aldi trademark ruling in new court hearing
English cider maker Thatchers is looking to overturn a ruling that said Aldi had not breached its cloudy lemon cider trademark, having returned to court today (17 December).
The dispute was first brought to High Court in November 2023 after the cider brand accused the discount supermarket of “unfair advantage” by copying its product “in both taste and appearance”.
However, in January of this year, Thatchers lost its legal battle against Aldi as the High Court ruled that there is “no likelihood of confusion” between Thatchers’ product and Aldi’s Taurus cider.
At the time, 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.”
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Judge Melissa Clarke found that Aldi’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 älska cloudy Sicilian lemon premium cider, and Somersby Citrus apple cider.
However, Thatchers now looks to overturn the ruling, with the companies returning to the Court of Appeal.
Commenting on the appeal, Charles Russell Speechlys head of intellectual property Mary Bagnall said: “Appeals in cases such as these are particularly difficult because the Court of Appeal may only intervene if the Judge’s findings of fact were rationally insupportable, or in making her multi-factorial evaluation of the issues, she erred in law or principle.
“One area which might be re-examined is whether the Judge, who found inconsistencies in the position taken at trial and the pleaded position, correctly relied on the particular sign to be considered, which of course is fundamental to the assessment in law.”
She added: “We look forward to the decision with interest but should not forget that in order to put themselves in the best possible position against lookalikes, brand owners must consider every element of IP protection when introducing new product lines, and take great care when applying for both registered trade marks and registered designs that the images protect the necessary elements of the pack designs; no more and no less.”
