A Swiss court has ordered Lidl to stop selling a much-loved Easter product over a court row with chocolate makers Lindt & Sprüngli.
The budget supermarket in Switzerland has been told to 'melt down' its stock of gold-wrapped Easter bunnies because they are too similar to the Lindt product, The Guardian reports. Switzerland’s highest court said the Lindt chocolate rabbit, known for its gold wrapping and red ribbon with a bell attached, should be protected from duplicates.
The Lindt rabbit is one of the brand's biggest selling lines, with more than 10million sold every year. The Swiss federal court said the product was well known to the public and that the Lindt and Lidl products are likely to be confused despite some differences between them.
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The court ruled that the destruction of Lidl’s stock was “proportionate", suggesting that the chocolate product could be melted down and reused. The federal court’s ruling overturned one made last year by a Swiss commercial court, which found against Lindt.
Lindt has been to court multiple times to protect its rabbits, and was granted a trademark on the product in 2001. It then faced Austrian rival chocolate maker Hauswirth in a legal battle over a similar product they made.
The court judgment only applies to Lidl in Switzerland, meaning the products will remain on sale in the UK. The Manchester Evening News has contacted both Lidl and Lindt for comment.
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