The European Court of
Justice was not convinced when Nestle presented evidence it could trademark the
shape of the famous KitKat chocolate bar snack. Nestle showed the judges the
public needed the shape to identify the famous confectionery product. Judges
said Nestle couldn't prove the goods did not need to show a brand name such as
KitKat to minimise confusion.
Nestle said that in
the last 80 years since KitKat was introduced to the public, the four fingers
were associated only with KitKat bars. Nestle sought to trademark it. But a
European Court Lawyer disagreed that the trademarking did not comply with EU
law.
Mischon de Reya Intellectual
Property Lawyer Sally Brighton said it was not the first time Nestle had tried
to trademark difficult product characteristics.
One of these was the KitKat
slogan "Have a Break", which took 40 years until courts approved the
slogan in 2006.
The legal row with
Kitkat is a series of legal battles between Nestle and Cadbury over product
trademarks. The row began when Cadbury attempted to trademark the purple colour
it uses for its
Cadbury chocolate wrappers. Nestle had overturned the
trademark.
Meanwhile, Cadbury had
worked hard to play down Nestle's attempt to trademark the KitKat shape.
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