‘Cuthbert is free’: M&S and Aldi end supermarket cake wars with ‘confidential’ deal in copyright dispute over Colin the Caterpillar design
- Marks & Spencer had accused Aldi of copying its Colin the Caterpillar cake
- The German discounter made changes to its Cuthbert cake in May last year before returning it to shelves
- But now copyright case between the retailers has been settled ‘confidentially’
- M&S said they were happy agreement protected their intellectual property
Marks & Spencer has ended the supermarket cake wars after calling a truce with Aldi.
The British retailer had accused the German discounter of copying the design of its famous Colin the Caterpillar for their rival Cuthbert.
Lawyers had been brought in on the intellectual property claim, which even made it to the High Court last year.
But now both supermarkets confirmed an agreement has been struck to resolve the conflict.
Details of the ‘confidential’ deal have not been revealed, but it is understood that Cuthbert will not appear again in quite the same form.
Marks & Spencer has settled an intellectual property claim with the German discounter Aldi after it accused them of copying the design of its famous Colin the Caterpillar cake (pictured) for their rival Cuthbert
It came after M&S first launched the lawsuit against Aldi in April last year in a bid to force its rival to take its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake off the shelves and agree to not sell anything resembling it in the future.
In May, Aldi started selling its caterpillar cake again after making changes to its chocolate face design.
On Thursday, Deputy Master Timothy John Bowles signed off an agreement in a consent order filed at the High Court.
The order, which was first reported by The Telegraph, allowed the legal claim to be withdrawn and said the retailers had reached a ‘confidential agreement’ in November.
M&S has three trademarks relating to Colin, which the retailer believes means Colin has acquired and retains an enhanced distinctive character and reputation.
Details of the ‘confidential’ deal have not been revealed, but it is understood that Cuthbert (pictured) will not appear again in quite the same form
Nevertheless, the M&S original has spawned a range of imitators since its launch, such as Sainsbury’s Wiggles, Tesco’s Curly, Morris by Morrisons, the Co-op’s Charlie, Cecil by Waitrose and Asda’s Clyde.
An M&S spokesman said: ‘The objective of the claim was to protect the IP (intellectual property) in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome.’
Meanwhile, Aldi said that Cuthbert was now ‘free’ following the dispute.
An Aldi spokesperson said: ‘Cuthbert is free and looking forward to seeing all his fans again very soon.’
M&S and Aldi are also involved in a separate copyright dispute over allegations the German rival copied an M&S ‘light-up’ gin liqueur product.
The M&S spokesman added: ‘Like many other UK businesses, large and small, we know the true value and cost of innovation and the enormous time, passion, creativity, energy and attention to detail, that goes into designing, developing and bringing a product to market and building its brand over many years.
‘So it is understandable that we want to defend our intellectual property and protect our suppliers – many of them small businesses that have worked with us for decades.’
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