Lidl has lost its court case with luxury chocolatier Lindt after its chocolate rabbits were deemed a copycat of the brand's iconic bunnies.
The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland has ruled that the supermarket chain's chocolate treats which are wrapped in aluminium foil were too similar to the premium chocolate maker's products.
The court has prohibited the chain's Swiss branches Lidl Schweiz and Lidl Schweiz DL from selling the copycat bunnies and ordered the destruction of any products still in stock.
Social media has erupted as fans wade in with their thoughts following the ruling.
Lidl ordered to melt chocolate bunnies after Lindt court case
One user took to Twitter to offer their service: "I see the Lidl bunnies now have to be “destroyed”. Where do I sign up to help eat them?"
Referring to Aldi's recent court case with Marks and Spencer over its chocolate caterpillar cake which was confidentially settled earlier this year, one person wrote: "Finally a company @Lindt has won a court battle against @lidl Lidl and @AldiUK have got away with ripping off other companies products for far too long."
A third user chimed in: "So Lidl has lost a court case with Lindt & has to stop selling a similar bunny in Switzerland and to destroy its remaining stock. Surely it could donate the stock to food banks instead?"
Another person expressed their frustration, adding: "Ridiculous and what a total waste of good chocolate and money."
Lindt & Sprungli sued Lidl in 2018 with the claim that the bunnies had a similar shape and appearance to its popular Easter products.
However, Switzerland's Aargau canton commercial court dismissed Lindt's action back in 2021.
The decision was later overturned by the highest court in Switzerland which deemed that the rabbits were "a risk of confusion even if the two products present certain differences".
The federal court added: "Given the overall impression produced, Lidl's bunnies arouse obvious associations with the shape of Lindt's.
"In the public mind, they cannot be distinguished."
As part of its evidence, the Swiss chocolatier presented consumer surveys that showed that its bunny had achieved a level of general public awareness.
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The Federal Supreme Court ruled that it "can be considered common knowledge that the shapes that Lindt & Sprungli has had protected by trademark law are associated by a very large part of the public with the Lindt & Sprungli company".
This is not the first time that Lindt has taken a brand to court over its chocolate bunnies.
Last year, the chocolate company gained a protected status for the golden shade for its foil wrap on its Easter treat.
A German federal court delivered its verdict in a battle between Switzerland’s Lindt and a German company, Heilemann after they marketed a similar bunny treat in gold foil wrap in 2018.
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