In a dispute over colour trademark protection for the famous Lindt gold bunny, the Federal Court of Justice has ruled in favour of renowned Swiss chocolate maker Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG (and its German subsidiary Lindt & Sprüngli GmbH).
Lindt had originally sued a competitor that also sold gold-coloured bunnies. Lindt claimed trademark protection for the gold colour of the Lindt Easter bunny on the grounds that they have been the market leader in Germany for many years and that the gold shade of the Lindt bunny has thus achieved a very high degree of recognition (acquired distinctiveness), as evidenced by a relevant market survey. Munich Regional Court I upheld the action. The Munich Higher Regional Court overturned the lower court ruling, among other things on the grounds that colour trademark protection did not apply because the shade of gold was not Lindt's corporate colour. The Federal Court of Justice disagreed and ruled that to be afforded trademark protection the colour does not have to be the corporate colour of the company in question. The court found that all other requirements for colour trademark protection were met.
Lindt was advised by the following team of Gleiss Lutz lawyers: Dr. Stefan Völker (partner, lead), Dr. Marcel Pemsel (counsel, both Trademarks, Stuttgart).
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