Lidl has been ordered to stop selling lookalike versions of Birkenstock sandals in the Netherlands after a Dutch court ruled the company had infringed upon Birkenstock’s copyright.

The District Court of Gelderland has issued an injunction preventing Lidl from selling versions of Birkenstock’s Arizona, Madrid, Gizeh, Boston and Florida designs in the country.

Lidl faces a €5,000 (£4,200) penalty for every day it fails to comply with the ruling and has also been ordered to provide Birkenstock with details of sales and orders for the affected products.

The supermarket must additionally compensate Birkenstock for damages and cover its legal costs, with both amounts to be determined separately.

The court found Lidl’s sandals infringed copyright relating in particular to the distinctive footbed design used across Birkenstock’s footwear.

The first-instance judgment can still be appealed.

Birkenstock said the decision demonstrated that “copycats must not be allowed to free-ride” on its creativity and innovation, adding that it would continue taking action to protect its designs, retail partners and customers.

Birkenstock steps up battle against lookalikes

The decision is the latest in a series of legal battles fought by Birkenstock over imitation versions of its bestselling footwear.

A Dutch court ordered footwear retailer Scapino to stop selling several Birkenstock lookalikes in November 2025, although that decision is currently being appealed.

The Court of Justice of the European Union subsequently ruled in December that industrially designed products can qualify for copyright protection where they reflect the creator’s own intellectual creation and creative choices, a judgment Birkenstock has argued supports protection for its sandals.

However, the footwear giant suffered a setback in Germany earlier in 2025 when the country’s highest civil court ruled its sandals were functional products rather than works of art entitled to copyright protection.

Birkenstock said following the latest Dutch ruling that it would continue to “defend its rights vigorously” against businesses selling imitations of its designs.

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