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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Henry Saker-Clark, PA City Reporter & Corrie David

M&S and Aldi settle legal battle over Colin the Caterpillar

Marks & Spencer has settled its copyright row with Aldi over its Colin the Caterpillar cake.

M&S had accused the German discounter of copying their design for their 'Cuthbert the Caterpillar'.

Both supermarkets confirmed an agreement has been struck but said they could not release details of the "confidential" deal.

M&S first launched the lawsuit against Aldi in April last year in a bid to force its rival to take Cuthbert off the shelves and agree to not sell anything resembling it in the future.

In May Aldi started selling its caterpillar cake again after making changes to its chocolate face design.

On Thursday Deputy Master Timothy John Bowles signed off an agreement in a consent order filed at the High Court.

The order, which was first reported by The Telegraph, allowed the legal claim to be withdrawn and said the retailers had reached a "confidential agreement" in November.

An M&S spokesman said: "The objective of the claim was to protect the IP (intellectual property) in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome."

Meanwhile Aldi said that Cuthbert was now "free" following the dispute.

An Aldi spokesman said: "Cuthbert is free and looking forward to seeing all his fans again very soon."

M&S and Aldi are also involved in a separate copyright dispute over allegations the German rival copied an M&S "light-up" gin liqueur product.

The M&S spokesman added: "Like many other UK businesses, large and small, we know 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 and building its brand over many years.

"So it is understandable that we want to defend our intellectual property and protect our suppliers – many of them small businesses that have worked with us for decades."

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