Mondelez International, a leading snack food maker, is suing Aldi supermarket chain in the US, alleging that the retailer’s packaging for its store-brand cookies and crackers “blatantly copies” Mondelez products. The company claims that Aldi’s packaging is likely to deceive and confuse customers, threatening to irreparably harm Mondelez and its brands.
The lawsuit, filed in Illinois, seeks monetary damages and a court order to stop Aldi from selling products with infringing trademarks. Mondelez has provided side-by-side photos of the allegedly copied products, including Wheat Thins crackers and Oreos chocolate sandwich cookies.
Aldi’s low-priced business model relies on selling primarily store-brand products, which has led to previous lawsuits over packaging infringement. The company has faced similar issues in Australia and the UK, where it was found to have infringed on the copyright of Baby Bellies snack puffs and design similarities with Thatchers’ lemon cider.
Mondelez claims that it had previously contacted Aldi about “confusingly similar” packaging but continued to sell infringing products. The company is seeking protection for its trade dress rights, including the packaging designs for Nutter Butter and Nilla Wafers cookies, and its Premium cracker brand.
Source: https://www.ksl.com/article/51322272/oreo-maker-mondelez-sues-aldi-alleges-packaging-confuses-customers