M&S is suing Aldi again for ‘copying’ its festive glitter snow globe gin

M&S has filed yet another lawsuit against Aldi for ‘copying’ the design and branding of its festive glitter gin. 

According to reports, M&S is seeking a High Court injunction against Aldi who recently launched a series of gold flake gin liqueurs, both of which closely resemble the three varieties of M&S’ ‘Light-Up’ gin, registered as designs earlier this year.

In court papers, M&S argues the designs of Aldi’s gold flake clementine gin liqueur and gold flake blackberry gin liqueur are ‘strikingly similar’ to its own.

M&S & Aldi

The papers include registered design images of M&S’s Light Up gin alongside a list of features M&S says are protected, including the shape of the bottle, an integrated light feature, gold leaf flakes and a winter forest graphic.

M&S has requested to destroy or hand over anything constituting a potential breach of the injunction and an inquiry into damages arising from the alleged infringement.

An M&S spokesperson said: “Our customers have confidence in our products because they trust our quality and sourcing standards, so we will always seek to protect our reputation for freshness, quality, innovation and value – and protect our customers from obvious copies.”

Aldi is yet to issue a formal statement on the matter, though they have shared an article on Twitter, writing jokingly: Our lawyers gonna be so rich they be shopping in @marksandspencer soon #FreeCuthbert #Round2.”

The #FreeCuthbert movement was born when the budget supermarket was handed a now-famous lawsuit by M&S over its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake design in April this year.

M&S claimed the design was too similar to its own Colin the Caterpillar cake, which has inspired the design for countless caterpillar cakes since its debut in 1990. They also insisted that the similarity leads consumers to believe they are of the same standard and that Aldi is ‘riding on the coat-tails’ of M&S’s reputation.

Instead of bringing an end to Cuthbert the Caterpillar, however, the lawsuit couldn’t have provided better publicity for Aldi, with their version of the cake being catapulted into the spotlight like never before.

Cuthbert even featured in Aldi’s 2021 Christmas advert, where it was seen being arrested and lead away in handcuffs.