Back to News >

A victory in the battle against dupes: The Court of Appeal sides with Thatchers in dispute with Aldi over ‘Taurus’ lookalike product

Background:

Thatchers are the largest family-run independent cider producer in the United Kingdom.

Thatchers launched their ‘Cloudy Lemon’ cider product in February 2020. Whilst Thatchers have had some challenges protecting this particular brand (namely, with respect to the word mark “Cloudy Lemon”), they are the proprietor of UK Trade Mark No. 3489711 for the device shown below, registered in respect of “cider; alcoholic beverages, except beer” in Class 33 with effect from 14 May 2020.

After the success of the ‘Cloudy Lemon’ product, Aldi launched their Taurus Cloudy Lemon Cider in May 2022.

Thatchers commenced proceedings against Aldi in September 2022, claiming Trade Mark Infringement as per Section 10(2) and 10(3) of the UK Trade Marks Act 1994, alleging that the Aldi product consisted of a similar trade mark that causes confusion in the marketplace and took unfair advantage of their brand reputation.

In a judgement handed down in February 2024, the High Court sided with Aldi, and Thatchers subsequently appealed.

Judgement:

In the Judgement handed down on 20 January 2025 by Lord Justice Arnold, the Court of Appeal has overturned the earlier High Court ruling, finding that the Aldi ‘Taurus’ product took unfair advantage of the Thatchers trade mark.

The Court of Appeal found that it was Aldi’s intention to mimic the ‘Cloudy Lemon’ product, so as to benefit from Thatchers’ development and promotional efforts, rather than competing purely on the merits of their own product and promotional efforts.

Secerna’s comment:

The judgement should serve as relief to the owners of reputed market leading brands, who are constantly plagued by supermarket ‘lookalike’ products. Thatchers are not the only brand who have succumbed to such copycat products, given that protecting packaging/get-up in the UK can be very challenging.

The judgement ought to compel supermarket chains (and other retailers) to think twice when designing the packaging of their ‘dupe’ products, which often seek to free-ride on the reputation enjoyed by the market leading product.

The judgement also serves as a lesson in perseverance and pragmatism for brand owners.

In this instance, despite knockbacks when applying to protect the ‘Cloudy Lemon’ brand, Thatchers persevered and sought protection for the label mock-up instead. This has proven to be pivotal when seeking to prevent Aldi’s lookalike product.

The key takeaway – in the face of adversity, protect whatever you can!

If you would like more information about trade mark protection and safeguarding against dupes, please get in touch.

External URL: https://www.secerna.com/insights/news/thatchers-vs-aldi-a-victory-in-the-battle-against-cloudy-lemon-cider-dupe/