Battle Of The Bunnies

There’s a battle going on in the chocolate rabbit world which could provide an interesting example of how businesses try to protect their products and ideas.

The products in question are shown in the picture below which is on the Guardian website.

Could consumers be confused?

Lindt & Sprungli - manufacturers of the bunny on the left - believe so, and started legal action against Hauswirth - manufacturers of the bunny on the right - claiming that they had infringed the trademark that they had been granted in 2000.

The battle has been going on for some years, but Europe’s top court has referred the issue back to Austria’s national court in order to decide whether Lindt’s trademark was obtained in “bad faith”.

The issue is complicated because it raises the question of whether it is feasible to trademark a 3D shape.

The full article from the Guardian can be found here.