Court of Appeal Rules Aldi Infringed Thatchers Cider Trade Mark

The Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ruling and held that Aldi Stores Limited infringed Thatchers Cider Company Limited’s registered trade mark for its cloudy lemon cider. The dispute centred on Aldi’s Taurus Cloudy Lemon Cider packaging, which featured similar visual elements to Thatchers’ mark, including colour schemes, imagery and layout. The court found that Aldi’s sign took unfair advantage of the reputation of Thatchers’ mark under section 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 by evoking its image to suggest a comparable yet cheaper product. Lord Justice Arnold noted that Aldi intended the packaging to remind consumers of the Thatchers product. This outcome reinforces the protection available against lookalike goods that exploit established brand reputations in the UK market.

Small-business owners should monitor competitors’ packaging closely and consider registering distinctive visual elements alongside word marks to strengthen enforcement options.