Lidl has been ordered to destroy its foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies after a Swiss court ruled it was too similar to the original Lindt version.
Switzerland’s highest court ruled on Thursday that Lindt and Spruengli’s chocolate bunnies deserve protection from copycat products which include a version by the German discount supermarket Lidl which has been ordered to stop selling its product and destroy remaining stock.
Lindt’s chocolate bunny – wrapped in gold-coloured foil with a red ribbon and small bell, and sitting in a squatting posture – is sold in various sizes and is one of the Swiss brand’s bestselling products, particularly popular in the Easter season.
Surveys submitted by Lindt showed its Easter bunny was well known to the public, the Federal Court said, adding that the two products were likely to be confused even though there were some differences between them.
It overturned a Swiss commercial court's ruling against Lindt in favour of two Swiss units of Lidl last year and ordered Lidl to destroy its remaining chocolate bunnies.
“Destruction is proportionate, especially as it does not necessarily mean that the chocolate as such would have to be destroyed,” it said in a summary of its verdict.
Lidl confirmed that only its chocolate bunnies are discontinued in Lidl Switzerland only but will still be sold in other Lidl supermarkets outside the country, including the UK.
Swiss premium chocolate maker Lindt has fought many court battles to protect one of its best-selling products.
Germany's federal court ruled last year that the gold tone of its foil-wrapped Easter bunny had trademark protection.
The company applied for a trademark on the three-dimensional shape of its bunny in 2000, which was granted the following year.
The issue of whether a chocolate bunny can be trademarked subsequently came before Europe’s top court, the European court of justice, after a long battle between Lindt and Austrian rival chocolate maker Hauswirth, which also made gold-wrapped chocolate rabbits with a ribbon around its neck.
