Images from lawsuit, via Gerben
The maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy and Wheat Thins is suing Aldi over the supermarket chain’s packaging, alleging it “blatantly copies” their name brands.
Mondelez, the company that makes the name-branded foods, filed the lawsuit in federal court Tuesday.
Why is Aldi being sued?
What they’re saying:
In the lawsuit, Chicago-based Mondelez claims Aldi’s cookie and cracker packaging is “likely to deceive and confuse customers.”
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Mondelez said it contacted Aldi on numerous occasions about “confusingly similar packaging.” Aldi reportedly discontinued or changed the packaging on some items, but continued to sell others.
The lawsuit includes side-by-side photos of multiple products – including the gold box for Aldi’s Thin Wheat crackers that resembles Wheat Thins, the blue packaging for Aldi’s chocolate sandwich cookies that resembles Oreos and the red box for Aldi’s Golden Round crackers that resembles Ritz crackers.
The lawsuit also accuses Aldi of infringing on Mondalez’s trade dress rights for the packaging of Nutter Butter and Nilla Wafers cookies, and its Premium cracker brand.
The other side:
Aldi didn’t respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Aldi also wasn’t immediately available for comment to LiveNow from FOX. Aldi is based in Germany, but its U.S. office in Batavia, Illinois is the branch named in the lawsuit.
What’s next:
Mondelez is seeking monetary damages and a court order to bar Aldi from selling products that copy its trademarks.
Other lawsuits against Aldi
The backstory:
Aldi keeps prices low by primarily selling products under its own labels. It’s one of the fastest-growing grocery chains in the U.S., with more than 2,500 stores in 39 states.
Dig deeper:
It’s not the first time Aldi has been sued over its packaging. Last year, an Australian court found that Aldi infringed on the copyright of Baby Bellies snack puffs for young children. In that case, Aldi’s packaging featured a cartoon owl and similar colors to the name-brand packaging.
Earlier this year, a U.K. appeals court ruled in favor of Thatchers, a cider company, which sued Aldi over design similarities in the packaging of its lemon cider.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press and images from a lawsuit filed against Aldi.
