Lindt Chocolate Bunny Hops Towards Victory in Trademark Battle

Lindt & Spruengli’s gold foil-wrapped chocolate Easter bunny scored a legal win on Thursday as Germany’s federal court ruled its gold tone had trademark protection. (Lindt & Spruengli)
Lindt & Spruengli’s gold foil-wrapped chocolate Easter bunny scored a legal win on Thursday as Germany’s federal court ruled its gold tone had trademark protection. (Lindt & Spruengli)
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Lindt Chocolate Bunny Hops Towards Victory in Trademark Battle

Lindt & Spruengli’s gold foil-wrapped chocolate Easter bunny scored a legal win on Thursday as Germany’s federal court ruled its gold tone had trademark protection. (Lindt & Spruengli)
Lindt & Spruengli’s gold foil-wrapped chocolate Easter bunny scored a legal win on Thursday as Germany’s federal court ruled its gold tone had trademark protection. (Lindt & Spruengli)

Lindt & Spruengli’s gold foil-wrapped chocolate Easter bunny scored a legal win on Thursday as Germany’s federal court ruled its gold tone had trademark protection.

The Swiss premium chocolate maker has been fighting many court battles over the years to protect one of its best-selling products that, according to the federal court, crossed German counters more than 500 million times in the past 30 years.

After failing to get comprehensive trademark protection for the shape of its sitting bunny, Lindt changed its tactics, trying to protect the shade of the foil instead, a strategy that seems to start bearing fruit.

Germany’s federal court said the tone of the gold foil used to wrap its chocolate bunnies had trademark protection, citing market research presented by the company that showed that 70% of respondents associated the gold tone with the Lindt bunny.

A court in Munich had previously rejected Lindt’s claims against German confiserie Heilemann, owned by Viba Sweets, that also sells a sitting bunny in golden foil. The appeals court will now have to reexamine the case.

Lindt & Spruengli said it did not intend to force another chocolate bunny manufacturer out of the market, but was defending itself against copycats exploiting the reputation it had built for its product over years.

“There are many ways to design Easter bunnies that don’t infringe Lindt & Spruengli’s rights,” said a spokesperson for the company that raised its full-year guidance after reporting strong Easter sales this week.

Viba Sweets was not immediately available to comment.



Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Syria’s minister of emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through a vast stretch of forested land.

The fires have been burning for six days, with Syrian emergency crews struggling to bring them under control amid strong winds and severe drought.

Neighboring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist in the response.

“We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires,” minister Raed al-Saleh said on X, adding Cyprus was expected to send aid on Tuesday, AFP reported.

“Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties,” he added.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted “some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities.”

An estimated 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and farmland -- more than three percent of Syria’s forest cover -- have burned, OCHA told AFP.

At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.

Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by “rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds, and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance”, Saleh said.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”