Justice Peter Charleton has passed judgement that Brennan's Bread soda bread range has made profits of €608,481 by using packaging similar to McCambridge's signature style.
The High Court ordered Brennan's Bread in August 2012 to pay a portion of profits generated from the range to their competitor, McCambridge's. According to the judge, the exact figure of the damages to be paid will be determined "at a proximate time."
Brennan's soda bread range was removed from shelves in August 2012, following McCambridge's success in the case. The case was delayed after Brennan's appeal of the verdict.
Commenting on how profits made by Brennan's Bread through the alleged imitation are to be determined, the judge wrote “A broad approach to apportioning profits should be taken by a court, remembering that the plaintiff is the wronged party and that obscure argument by economists is not what drives consumption in the marketplace.”
Mr Peter Charleton ruled that Brennan Bakeries has "passed off" its product as McCambridge's "highly regarded loaf," and that the awarding of damages will soon follow.
“In the result, the Court will order an account as to what profits of the defendant Brennan Bakeries are attributable to its decision to dress up the packaging of its sliced brown bread in a get up that unintentionally passed it off as the highly-regarded loaf of the plaintiff McCambridge.”
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Charlie Burns.
