Logo wars: Tesco and Lidl at Court of Appeal in latest instalment of clubcard row
A small blue and yellow logo is in the spotlight once again today during a hearing at court, as Tesco tries to appeal a ruling that it had infringed on Lidl’s trademark.
The logo at the heart of this dispute is Tesco’s “Clubcard Prices” promotion which uses a blue square with a yellow circle, with the words ‘clubcard prices’ inside.
Lidl sued over its well-known logo, which is a blue square with a yellow circle with its name inside. Lidl brought a trademark, copyright Infringement and passing off action claim, which Tesco lost last April.
Despite the German supermarket being successful on Tesco infringing on its trademark (with words), the court said Lidl’s trademarks of the same circle and square with no text were invalid.
Following the High Court judgment, Lidl went on to seek an injunction preventing Tesco from infringing its trademark.
Last August, the court ruled that Lidl can have an injunction to stop rival Tesco copying its logo, which was noted as the time of potentially costing Tesco nearly £8m pounds to remove them all.
This week, the parties at the Court of Appeal in front of Lord Justice Lewison, Lord Justice Arnold and Lord Justice Birss. The appeal hearing kicked off on Monday and is set to conclude on Wednesday.
Tesco is appeal the finding that it had infringed the mark with text, had passed off its goods and had infringed Lidl’s copyright. It also seeks to appeal the imposition of the injunction.
While Lidl is appealing the finding that its trademarks of the same circle and square with no text were invalid.
It was reported last year that Tesco raked in £8.92bn in sales as the group’s clubcard discounts enticed shoppers sniffing out the best deals.