Dive Brief:
- A panel of judges on Friday at the Court of Appeal in London overturned an October 2011 ruling regarding Cadbury's exclusive use of its purple color on its chocolate packaging.
- Nestle, which had appealed the ruling, will now be able to use that shade of purple with its chocolates if it desires, as will other confectioners.
- The court ruled that Cadbury's trademark "lacks the required clarity, precision, self-containment, durability and objectivity to qualify for registration."
Dive Insight:
Cadbury could still appeal this decision, but the court's move could open the floodgates for chocolate makers hoping to look like the Mondelez-owned brand's sweets on store shelves. Chocolate giants like Nestle or Hershey would have obviously invested years of funding and labor into establishing their own product appearances. At the end of the day, this decision follows a nine-year legal battle and sounds like it could be more of a pain for Cadbury than a help to its leading competitors.