KitKat four-finger trademark thrown out by EU Court in Nestle-Cadbury chocolate war
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Version 0 of 1. A European Court has thrown out Nestle’s attempts to trademark the four-finger KitKat, ending one battle in the long-running chocolate war between Nestle and rival Cadbury. Nestle was seeking to trademark the shape of its four-finger bar, which would have made all other four-finger chocolate bars of the same shape and size in Europe illegal. Unsurprisingly, Nestle faced tough legal opposition from Cadbury’s owner, Mondelez international. A chocolate war has been waged between Cadbury and Nestle for the last ten years, since Cadbury sought to trademark the colour purple. Cadbury has been seeking retribution ever since Nestle succeeded in its purple trademark overturned in 2013, according to the BBC. Nestle argued that its four-finger bar had been associated with the company since it was launched in 1935, citing a survey that showed 90 per cent of people linked an unbranded four-finger chocolate bar with Nestle. A different four-fingered chocolate bar has existed in Norway since 1937, however, called Kvikk Lunsj, meaning ‘quick lunch’. Nestle did not seek to trademark its two-finger KitKat. |