Lidl claims that Tesco is taking advantage of the background of its trademark logo – a blue square containing a yellow circle with a thin red border – to promote Clubcard discounts to its own customers.
Image: Derby Telegraph)
Rival supermarket giants Lidl and Tesco will spend £ 2.35 million to fight each other in court over claims that Tesco has ripped off the Lidl logo.
Lidl claims that Tesco is taking advantage of the background of its trademark logo – a blue square containing a yellow circle with a thin red border – to promote Clubcard discounts to its own customers.
The German supermarket says the yellow circle with a red border on the blue background is a “wordless” trademark, even without the Lidl name, and is trying to ban Tesco from using a background similar to its “Price” signs. Clubcard “in their stores.
He says Tesco is “deliberately looking to line up in the wake of Lidl’s reputation as a ‘discounter'” using the background of the Lidl logo to promote its Clubcard price cuts.
As part of the evidence supporting his claim, Lidl has presented the results of a survey to the High Court in London, in which the interviewees were shown the background in dispute without Lidl’s name and He asked them what it was, with “numerous answers” identifying a connection to Lidl.
Judging in a pre-trial skirmish between the two food giants, Judge Joanna Smith handed the victory to Lidl, rejecting Tesco’s offer to make the evidence in the survey inadmissible at trial.
Explaining the form of the case, the judge said: “In short, Lidl claims that Tesco’s use of a new sign in ‘Clubcard Pricing’ marketing is an infringement.
“By filing the claim, Lidl bases its trademark rights on two versions of the Lidl logo: a logo that includes the word ‘Lidl’ and a logo without that word, ‘the wordless brand.’
“The Wordless Mark is a graphic device that consists of a blue square background with a yellow disk, bordered by a thin red line.”
He said Lidl’s lawyers argue that the background of the supermarket logo is “capable of being, and is, perceived by the UK public as a hallmark of the Lidl group of companies”.
“Essentially, Lidl says Tesco is deliberately looking to ride on the tailgates of Lidl’s reputation as a‘ discount ’supermarket known for delivering value.
“He alleges that Tesco’s use of the sign in connection with Tesco’s discount pricing is intended to cause members of the public to recall Lidl’s business and brands, including the fact that it suggests that the prices of the products offered by Tesco for sale below or in relation to the sign are offered at the same prices, or lower prices, than those that could be obtained for the same products or equivalent in Lidl stores, “he said. explained the judge.
Exposing Tesco’s defense, he continued: “Lidl’s use of the Brand without words is in dispute.
“Focusing specifically on wordless branding, ask … Wordless branding is a product of Lidl’s legal imagination and a product of its branding strategy. It doesn’t exist in the real world … Lidl has never used the Wordless Brand and never wanted to use it. “
Tesco’s lawyers tried to argue that the results of the survey should not be included in the evidence at the next trial, saying, among other things, that the way the questions were asked had been the main one.
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During the survey, participants were shown the wordless logo and asked, “What do you think this image is?” company … What company would you expect it to be? “
The judge, who allowed the evidence of the survey to be included in the trial, said: or ‘Lidl sign’ or even ‘Looks like Lidl background’, or ‘Part of the Lidl logo without the words’ or ‘Brand image for Lidl supermarket’.
“This seems to me a testament to the recognition by participants that the Wordless Brand is a logo or trademark.”
The judge went on to say that Tesco’s estimated costs for the trial, even without addressing the subject of the contested survey, “amount to £ 1,185,976, while those of Lidl amount to £ 1,170,244.
“The combined legal costs of several million pounds seem to be a reflection of the key that is this brand dispute for both parties,” he remarked.
The judge also overturned Tesco’s counterclaim alleging that some of the Lidl trademarks in question should be declared null and void in bad faith.
The case will go to trial at a later date.
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