Tesco's club card motif copied the Lidl logo in an attempt to «deceive» customers. Credit: REUTERS/Paul Childs/File Photo
Tesco will be ordered to stop using its club card motif after a judge ruled that the supermarket copied the Lidl logo and «cheated». customers.
The UK's largest supermarket is expected to be forced to remove the yellow and blue Clubcard logo from shelves after losing a lengthy trademark battle in the High Court.
Tesco copied the Lidl logo to stop the "economic pressure of customers" according to judge Joanna Smith, switching to her German opponent.
The judge ruled that while Tesco had no specific intent to «free-play Lidl's reputation», the Clubcard logo was designed to «evoke the 'elusive but insidious' 39; transferring the image from [Lidl logo] to [club card logo] in the minds of some consumers.”
She said: «This will help Tesco increase the attractiveness of its prices.» Lidl said it now expects a court to issue an injunction ordering Tesco to remove the logo.
The decision follows years of legal wrangling between the two supermarkets, with Lidl saying in 2021 that Tesco's marketing was too much of a reminder customers about their own branding.
The Lidl logo has a yellow circle on a blue background.
In 2021, Lidl said the Tesco logos reminded shoppers of their own branding. Credit: REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo
Tesco first announced prices for its club card in 2019, using a yellow circle on a blue square with overlay text to promote it.< /p>
Judge Joanna Smith said that the resemblance «proves the existence of deception».
The judge also ruled that design agency Tesco had copied the background from the Lidl logo and that the British supermarket «used that copy as the basis for the [Clubcard] Signifier logo».
Tesco claims that the yellow circle trademark was «a figment of Lidl's legitimate imagination.»
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A spokesperson for Lidl GB said: club card to deceive many customers into believing that Tesco matches the price of Lidl or can offer the same high quality as we do.
“This breach has allowed Tesco to unfairly take advantage of our longstanding reputation for great benefit by misleading its customers at a time when they should have been supporting them. We are pleased that the court has agreed with us and is now ordering Tesco to stop using the Clubcard logo.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are surprised and disappointed by today's decision regarding the lawsuit filed by Lidl against our Clubcard Prices logo. Clubcard Prices has always been focused on offering thousands of products to its Clubcard customers as part of our commitment to keeping the cost of the weekly store as affordable as possible. Nothing in today's decision changes that.
“This requirement, put forward by Lidl, concerned only the color and shape of the Clubcard Prices logo. The judge concluded that Tesco had no deliberate intention to copy the Lidl trademark. This will not affect our club card pricing scheme, which we will continue to use in exactly the same way. We intend to appeal.”
The decision comes amid a escalating price war between UK supermarkets as brick-and-mortar stores struggle to prevent their customers from switching to Aldi and Lidl.
German discounters have recorded sales growth of more than 25% over the past year, compared to about 6% in traditional stores.
Last summer, Aldi overtook Morrisons to become the UK's fourth-biggest supermarket, reflecting growing popularity among shoppers.
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