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Vol. 5, Issue 83. Oct 1, 2022.
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Court orders Lidl company to destroy chocolate bunnies in legal battle with original Lindt
Bern
Courtesy: UPI
While siding with Swiss chocolate makers Lindt and Sprüngli in a lengthy trademark dispute, the discount grocery chain Lidl has been ordered by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland to destroy any chocolate bunnies it has in stock in the country. In 2018, Lindt first went to court against Lidl, arguing that the gold-foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies of the grocery store violated the Swiss trademark of Lindt and could be mistaken for the company's own chocolate bunnies. In 2021, the commercial court of Switzerland dismissed the case, but Lindt was allowed to appeal the decision by the federal court. The Federal Supreme Court stated in a statement on Thursday announcing its decision, "Lindt & Sprüngli's chocolate bunny wrapped in aluminum foil -golden or another color -- enjoys trademark protection against Lidl's competing product." Due to the risk of confusion, "Lidl can no longer sell its own rabbit," and the remaining copies must be destroyed. The court concluded that Lindt's trademark protections "can be considered common knowledge" and that opinion polls it had filed showed the company had better established itself in the market. "The shape of Lindt's rabbit evokes obvious associations in Lindl's rabbits."They cannot be distinguished in the public's mind," the court wrote in its decision. "The destruction is proportionate, especially since it does not necessarily mean that the chocolate as such must be destroyed," the court wrote in granting Lindt's request for Lidl to "destroy" all of its remaining chocolate rabbits. According to a statement that it provided to The New York Times, Lidl would not be required to dispose of any chocolate rabbits because they are a seasonal item that are not currently available.