Lindt's chocolate bunny is now protected by a trademark

The Swiss company Lindt & Spruengli won another lawsuit. Lindt's chocolate bunny wrapped in gold foil is now protected by a trademark. In its judgment, the German federal court stated that the golden hue of the foil packaging on the product is unique and that no one else can use it. However, the mark does not concern the shape of the figurine. The Swiss manufacturer of premium chocolate has waged many court battles over the years to protect one of its best-selling products over the past 30 years. After the company failed to obtain comprehensive trademark protection for the shape of a sitting bunny, it changed its tactics and instead tries to protect the shade of the foil. This is a strategy that is probably beginning to bear fruit. Now the Federal Court of Justice has given its verdict in the battle between the Swiss company Lindt and the German company Heilemann, which in 2018 also launched a chocolate bunny wrapped in a gold wrapper. Last year, the Munich district court ruled against Lindt. However, the Federal Court then concluded that the Swiss company had established that the golden hue of its bunny's packaging had acquired the status of a trade mark on the basis of its reputation, relying on a survey submitted by the manufacturer. He showed that 70 percent of respondents associate this shade with the Lindt product. The Swiss chocolate manufacturer argued that it had a trade mark acquired for that color, that its competitor had infringed that trade mark and that Heilemann should stop selling the product. Lindt & Spruengli said it did not intend to push another chocolate bunny manufacturer out of the market, but defended itself against imitators who abused the reputation its product had built over the years. "There are many ways to design Easter bunnies that do not violate the rights of our society," said spokesman Lindt & Spruengli.