Battle of the chocolate bunnies has its day in court as Lindt’s gold standard prevails

GERMANY’S highest court decided a landmark case yesterday, by ruling that golden chocolate bunnies are a protected trademark. Lindt & Sprüngli, the Swiss chocolate-maker, has fought for years in the German courts to protect the distinctive gold-coloured wrappers of its “Gold Bunnies”.

The rabbits are one of the highestselling chocolates in Germany and the company has taken action against rivals that marketed anything similar. So when it lost a case against the German confectioner Heilemann, Lindt petitioned the Federal Court, Germany’s highest, to rule on whether the gold wrapping is a protected trademark.

“The goal was not to force another chocolate bunny manufacturer out of the market but to defend against illegal imitators who take advantage of the good reputation of a famous product that has been built up over many years,” a spokesman for Lindt said after the ruling. “There are plenty of ways to design chocolate bunnies that don’t infringe Lindt & Sprüngli’s rights.” Lawyers for Lindt presented a market study that showed almost 8o per cent of customers associated the gold colour with Lindt. The argument failed to convince a lower court in Munich, which ruled gold is not a classic corporate colour for Lindt as most of its products have different wrappers. The Federal Court disagreed, finding it was enough for every second person to associate the colour with the company.

The Federal Court, however, did not overturn the lower court’s ruling over the specific dispute with Heilemann. That will continue to be fought through the appeals process where Lindt will have to convince the courts that Heilemann has infringed its now recognised trademark.