Shutterstock / Alastair Wallace
A decision concerning bad faith arguments in a dispute between Lidl and Tesco could have significant implications for trademark owners, finds Muireann Bolger.
Evergreening—the periodic re-filing of new trademark applications for the same goods and services—is frequently adopted by brand owners, but an interim judicial decision has potentially cast a withering look at its use as a defensive strategy.
Last week, the Court of Appeal of England Wales, in an interim ruling, said that Tesco could use an argument of ‘bad faith’ in its dispute against Lidl, a decision that lawyers predict could have long-term ramifications for many brand owners.
Back in June, the German discounter sued Tesco alleging that a sign used for the latter’s clubcard scheme—a yellow circle on a blue square with the words ‘Clubcard Prices’—infringed Lidl's IP rights.
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Lidl, Tesco, Evergreening, trademarks, trademark application, Court of Appeal of England Wales, UK
