Dairy producer De Zuivelhoeve has been waging a constant battle against other parties trying to copy the distinctive look of their yoghurt package. They have been quite successful in this.
When a deal with a large retailer did not came to a close the retailer, Lidl, decided to market her own yoghurt product, sporting a very similar package as De Zuivelhoeve, under the name Oma’s Yoghurt. De Zuivelhoeve started a court procedure.
The court decided that the package of Oma’s Yoghurt resembled that of De Zuivehoeve to a very large degree. De Zuivelhoeve had a trademark registration and has been using the packaging consistently for many years. Research has shown that the package was actually very recognizeable and attained a reputation on the market. Because of this it acquired distinctiveness. The consequence: Lidl was prohibited to sell Oma’s Yoghurt and was fined € 30.000,- (source image: boek9.nl).
