Aldi has lost a court battle against Marks and Spencer after it was accused of copying its light-up Christmas gin.
The High Court this week ruled that Aldi had infringed M&S’ design, in a blow for the budget supermarket which had denied all accusations.
The ruling could result in Aldi having to hand M&S damages and an account of its profits from selling its version of the festive drink.
M&S took Aldi to court in December 2021, just a few weeks after Aldi launched the product.
The posh retailer argued Aldi had copied the design of its flagship Light-Up Festive Gin bottles, which contain gold flakes, which it started selling a year earlier in Autumn 2020.
The M&S gin costs £6 more than the Aldi version.
M&S said the bottle design of the The Infusionist gin liqueur was "strikingly similar" to its light-up drink which it held a registered design for.
Both products consist of a bell-shaped bottle that is illuminated from below, with gold flakes in the liquid.
According to M&S, its product developer came up with the idea of incorporating lights into the base of the bottle after seeing lights in shops on London’s Kensington High Street.
The budget supermarket denied the accusation and argued that design features used by M&S were "commonplace" and "widely known across the sector."
The case then went to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and was heard on December 16 2022.
The judge for the case, His Honour Judge Hacon, said: “Going back to the statutory test, it is whether the [registered designs] in suit and the Aldi bottles produce a different overall impression.
"In my judgement, they do not because of the features they have in common.”
Aldi argued in the case that its Infusionist gin liqueur had the words "The Infusionist Small Batch" which showed there was a difference from M&S' registered design where no words appear.
However, the judge said the differences were of “relatively minor detail” and the other design factors, like the snow effect of the gold flakes and the bottle shape, were similar.
Aldi said it was "disappointed" with the decision that was made and that it would appeal the decision.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Aldi is committed to offering customers the highest quality products, at the lowest possible prices.”
An M&S spokesperson said: "We are pleased with the judgement, which demonstrates the importance of protecting our innovation.
"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.
"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 quality, innovation and value.”
