Marks and Spencer is suing Aldi over a cake which is alleged to be similar to the famed Colin the Caterpillar.
The high street retailer claims that the supermarket’s Cuthbert the Caterpillar infringes on the trademark.
M&S is demanding that Aldi removes all of the Cuthbert products from sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.
The firm lodged an intellectual property claim at the High Court in London against Aldi this week.
M&S says that Aldi’s product ‘rides on the coat-tails’ of its reputation.
A spokesperson for Marks and Spencer said: “Because we know the M&S brand is special to our customers and they expect only the very best from us, love and care goes into every M&S product on our shelves.
“So we want to protect Colin, Connie and our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value.”
The beloved Colin has become a leading brand for M&S since it was launched three decades ago - with kids across Scotland celebrating their birthday with the cheery-faced bug.
It is a product that has become central to M&S' partnership with cancer charity Macmillan, and the retailer has created a Colin product for the annual World's Biggest Coffee Morning fundraising event.
The Colin cake is a sponge with milk chocolate and buttercream, topped with chocolate sweets and a smiling white chocolate face.
Cuthbert is also made with chocolate sponge, which is filled with chocolate buttercream and is topped with a hard chocolate shell and multi-coloured sweets for decoration.
M&S’ Colin retails at £7 while Aldi’s Cuthbert costs shoppers less at £4.99.
The high street retailer has three trademarks that relate to Colin, which M&S believes means Colin has acquired and remains an enhanced distinctive character and reputation.
Aldi it did not wish to add anything when approached for comment.
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