Nestlé’s appeal against Cadbury’s trademark for a particular shade of the colour purple has been accepted by the UK Court of Appeal this morning.
This means that Cadbury cannot register its trademark for purple shade Pantone 2685C, which it uses on Cadbury Dairy Milk. However, Cadbury’s lawyers have warned that this does not give competitors a license to use Cadbury’s purple to package milk chocolate.
The Court of Appeal ruling overturns earlier decisions in Cadbury’s favour in the High Court and UK Intellectual Property Office.
Giving his judgment in the Court of Appeal, Sir John Mummery, said:“To allow a registration so lacking in specificity, clarity and precision of visual appearance would offend against the principle of certainty. It would also offend against the principle of fairness by giving a competitive advantage to Cadbury and by putting Nestlé and its other competitors at a disadvantage.”
