Aldi: Supermarket loses cloudy lemon cider legal trademark case against Thatchers

Somerset-based brewer Thatchers had sued, claiming that Aldi’s Taurus brand had copied its product. Last January the High Court in London dismissed Thatchers’ case, with Judge Melissa Clarke concluding there was a low degree of similarity between the products and no likelihood of confusion for consumers.

In December, Thatchers challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, and on Monday three judges allowed the appeal.

In a 40-page ruling, Lord Justice Arnold said Aldi had infringed the trademark with regards to its sign – the graphics on the cans and on the cardboard four–can pack of the Aldi product, and not the Aldi product itself.

Lord Justice Arnold, sitting with Lord Justice Phillips and Lady Justice Falk, said: “In my judgment, it is plain from a comparison between the sign and the trademark that the former closely resembles the latter.”

He added: “The inescapable conclusion is that Aldi intended the sign to remind consumers of the trademark. This can only have been in order to convey the message that the Aldi product was like the Thatchers product, only cheaper. To that extent, Aldi intended to take advantage of the reputation of the trademark in order to assist it to sell the Aldi product. “

He added the fact that “Aldi did not intend consumers to be deceived, or even confused, as to the trade origin of the Aldi product does not detract from this”.

The judge continued that Aldi was able to achieve “substantial sales” of the cider in a short period of time “without spending a penny on promoting it”.

Lord Justice Arnold said that in the absence of evidence that Aldi would have achieved equivalent sales of the Aldi product without use of the sign, “it is a legitimate inference that Aldi thereby obtained the advantage from the use of the sign that it intended to obtain”.

He said it was an “unfair advantage” because it enabled Aldi to profit from the drinks firm’s investment in developing and promoting the Thatchers product.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court in this case. We think the Court of Appeal’s decision is wrong and we intend to appeal. Aldi offers exclusive brands as low-price alternatives to more expensive branded products. The High Court was clear that Aldi customers know what they are buying when they shop with us.”

Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker at Thatchers Cider, said: “This is a victory not just for our family business, but for all businesses whose innovation is stifled by copycats.”

He added that they were “thrilled” the court had “got to the core of the issue and cleared up any cloudy judgment”.