Thatchers
The case has now been heard twice in court
Cider producer Thatchers has successfully won an appeal in a long-running battle with supermarket chain Aldi.
The Somerset company sued the supermarket chain in 2022 for claiming Aldi had “copied” its Cloudy Lemon Cider in terms of “taste and appearance”.
Thatchers has claimed that Aldi’s Taurus drink, released in 2022, is “riding the coattails” of Thatchers’ reputation.
Last January, the High Court in London threw out Thatchers’ case, but the latest hearing resulted in a judge ruling in Thatchers’ favor. Aldi said it would appeal.
In her January judgment, Justice Melissa Clarke concluded that there was a low degree of similarity between the products and that there was no likelihood of confusion for consumers.
Thatchers had claimed that Aldi was “misleading shoppers into believing that the ciders are the same, or related in some way”.
And in the Court of Appeal’s latest judgment, Lord Justice Arnold said Aldi had infringed the Thatchers trade mark in relation to its ‘sign’, referring to images on the product’s packaging.
“Meant to profit”
He added: “The inescapable conclusion is that Aldi wanted the sign to remind consumers of the brand.
“This can only have been to send the message that the Aldi product was like the Thatchers product, but cheaper.
“To that extent, Aldi intended to take advantage of the brand’s reputation to help sell the Aldi product.”
He added that “Aldi did not intend to deceive consumers, or even confuse them, as to the commercial origin of the Aldi product, takes nothing away from that.”
Martin Thatcher said ruling was a ‘victory’ for family businesses
Martin Thatcher, fourth generation cider maker at Thatchers Cider, said: “This is a victory not only for our family business, but for all businesses whose innovation is stifled by imitators.”
He added that Thatchers was “delighted” that the court had “got to the heart of the matter and cleared up any vague judgments”.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal disagrees with the High Court in this case.
“We believe the Court of Appeal’s decision is wrong and we intend to appeal.
“Aldi offers exclusive brands as low-cost alternatives to more expensive branded products.
“The High Court has made it clear that Aldi customers know what they are buying when they shop with us.”
