Marks and Spencer are suing Aldi as the supermarket chains go to war just months after their caterpillar cake row.
However, this time the dispute involves an Aldi gin product that Marks and Spencer say is “strikingly similar” to their product.
M&S has claimed the gold flake blackberry and clementine gin liqueur from Aldi features several aspects which are protected, such as the bottle shape, integrated light feature, gold leaf flakes and winter forest design.
Both products are contained in bell-shaped bottles with a light at the bottom that showcases the edible gold flake used in the drink.
However, one notable difference is that the Aldi gin retails for approximately €7 cheaper than the €23 bottle from M&S.
M&S has accused Aldi of misleading customers into thinking the two gin products are of the same standard and said Aldi is being allowed to “ride on the coat-tails” of the products reputation.
The supermarket wants an injunction to stop Aldi from committing infringements of its protected products and wants them to hand over any product that breaches the injunction as well as an investigation into potential damages.
The latest legal battle comes just months after M&S sued Aldi over its Cuthbert caterpillar cake as it alleged the product was too similar to its Colin the Caterpillar cake.
The case sparked Aldi to begin a viral campaign titled #FreeCuthbert on Twitter.
An M&S spokesperson said the firm knew the "true value and cost of innovation and the enormous time, passion, creativity, energy and attention to detail, that goes into designing, developing and bringing a product to market".
They added: "Our customers have confidence in our products because they trust our quality and sourcing standards, so we will always seek to protect our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value - and protect our customers from obvious copies."
Aldi responded on Twitter, saying: "Our lawyers gonna be so rich they be shopping in @marksandspencer soon #FreeCuthbert #Round2".
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