Aldi was recently sued by Marks & Spencer for allegedly duplicating its “Light Up” gin. It sued Aldi earlier this month for their Cuthbert cake, alleging that Aldi’s cake was also too similar to and it is well known Colin the Caterpillar cake. “Aldi’s gold flake blackberry & clementine gin liqueurs are extremely similar like our own product,” M&S court documents state.

It cites various aspects that claim to be protected, including:

• Bottle shape.
• An integrated light feature.
• Gold leaf flakes and
• A winter forest graphic.

Both gins have a bell-shaped container with a light at the base that highlights delectable golden flakes floating inside. However, there is a significant price difference between the two, with Aldi’s gin costing roughly £6 less than the M&S equivalent, which costs £20.

“Customers are being deceived to assume the two gins of the same level, allowing Aldi to ride on the coattails of our reputation with their product,” Mark’s statement said in their intellectual property claim. M&S is seeking an injunction to prevent Aldi from allegedly infringing on any of its recognized designs in the future.

M&S also wants Aldi to destroy or send over any items that may violate the injunction, as well as an inquiry into any damages. While some may feel that imitation is the best form of flattery, M&S has demonstrated that it will not sit back and let others transgress its boundaries.

“The firm was already aware of the actual value and expense of innovation, and the significant effort, passion, creativity, energy, & thoroughness that goes into conceiving, developing, or bringing a product to the market,” an M&S spokeswoman stated in reaction to the present instance. “Our consumers trust our quality and sourcing standards, therefore we will constantly attempt to maintain our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation, and value – and protect our customers from apparent replicas,” they said.

“Our attorneys going to be so rich they are buying in @marksandspencer shortly #FreeCuthbert #Round2,” Aldi said on Twitter. I hope that people will soon begin to value others’ intellectual property and will not attempt to infringe on it in any way.