Tesco has lost its appeal against a ruling that it infringed Lidl’s trademark over the use of a yellow square on a blue background, it was reported on Tuesday.
The decision likely marks an end to the legal battle between the German discount supermarket and Tesco.
Lidl sued Britain’s largest retailer when it first adopted the design for its ‘Clubcard Prices’ discount scheme in 2020.
Tesco had previously said that removing all infringing logos would cost nearly £8 million.
The ruling comes amid ongoing competition between UK retailers over their share of Britain’s £230 billion grocery market.
The competitiveness is driven by Aldi and Lidl’s low prices, with other retailers such as Morrisons launching price matching schemes in an effort to keep up.
Tesco holds the most market share with almost 28%, while Lidl holds 8%.
‘Respect The Court’s Decision’
Both retailers have traded allegations of copying brands and deceiving customers at a trial in 2023.
The judge subsequently ruled that Tesco took “unfair advantage” of Lidl’s reputation for low prices.
However, she also rejected Lidl’s argument that Tesco had “the deliberate subjective intention of riding on Lidl's coat tails".
Tesco sought to overturn the ruling, but the Court of Appeals dismissed its appeal that it infringed Lidl’s trademark
However, the court did uphold Tesco’s appeal against finding that it infringed Lidl’s copyright.
Lidl welcomed the decision, with a spokesperson saying, “We expect Tesco now to respect the court’s decision and change its Clubcard logo to one that is not designed to look like ours.”
Tesco confirmed that it planned to update the logo soon.
Commenting on the verdict, a spokesperson from Tesco said, “We are disappointed with the judgement relating to the colour and shape of the Clubcard prices logo but would like to reassure customers that it will in no way impact our Clubcard Prices programme.”
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