Budget supermarket chain Aldi has been taken to the High Court for allegedly ‘copycatting’ a famous British cider company.
The German retailer is said to have made huge profits by piggybacking off Thatchers’ major investment in marketing for a lemon-flavoured alcoholic drink.
The family-owned firm claims the supermarket’s Taurus cloudy lemon cider is too similar to their own product, which they have poured large amounts of money into market research for.
Thatchers is now suing Aldi as they believe thirsty shoppers will have been ‘plonking it into their trolley thinking it’s a Thatchers product’.
Aldi, which like fellow German discounter Lidl has faced similar allegations before over its products, denies the claim and is defending the case.
Lawyers for Aldi say the supermarket’s cloudy lemon cider is ‘well-distinguishable from the Thatchers product’.
Judge Melissa Clarke was shown cans of both products in the court this week and asked to decide if the design of Aldi’s product infringes on Thatchers’ trademark.
She was also asked by Thatchers’ lawyer Martin Howe to do a taste test of both.
Clarke said she was ‘happy to do so, but not in court’.
‘I have a “no alcohol while sitting” rule,’ she added.
The court also heard that Thatchers lawyers had also been in touch with Aldi about a similar situation regarding a blood orange cider.
The judge’s decision will be released in due course.
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