The High Court has granted an injunction stopping rival Yoplait from marketing a product it claims is similar to natural yoghurt 'Skyr'.
Yoplait Ireland Ltd has initiated legal proceedings against Nutricia Ireland Ltd, a subsidiary of Danone in Ireland, accusing it of “counterfeiting” the product.
Yoplait claims that the “appearance” or packaging of Danone's “Icelandic style” Skyr yogurt is so similar to Yoplait's “Skyr” product that it could cause confusion among consumers.
The company claims that Danone is exploiting the reputation it has built for its product by engaging in unfair competitive practices.
Nutricia argued that Yoplait failed to meet the conditions for obtaining an injunction and failed to provide evidence that consumers were misled.
On Friday, Judge Max Barrett said he upheld an order to ban Nutricia from selling certain Danone products under a guise likely to cause confusion with Yoplait products in the Irish market.
At a hearing earlier this week in the case, which Nutricia opposed, the court heard that both products were marketed as low-calorie, high-protein and fat-free, based on Icelandic yogurt recipes.
Yoplait introduced its Skyr in 2022, while Danone's Skyr product has been available in France for several years, although Yoplait claims that the French packaging is significantly different from Yoplait Skyr.
When Nutricia entered the UK market in February last year, Danone's product was styled in the same way as Yoplait's, using the same signature blue colour and white mountain or iceberg image, and the pack sizes were also similar, Yoplait said.
Nutricia disputed the allegations and said Yoplait had failed to meet the conditions for obtaining an injunction. Yoplait also failed to provide evidence of consumer misrepresentation, according to the filing.
In his judgment, Judge Barrett noted that, applying the established test for similarity of products, “the problem is the obvious blue colour (on a white background) that is evident when comparing the Yoplait and Danone containers.”
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If you compare them side by side in a supermarket, as shown in the photos, that color feature will dominate, he said.
He noted that in one of the photographs, “the bluish tint of competing Yoplait/Danone products is so noticeable that they are difficult to distinguish in the picture.”
He was confident that the balance of interests supported maintaining the current situation until a final decision was made on the case.
He also expressed confidence that in the absence of an injunction and if Yoplait were to win the underlying claim, damages would not be an adequate remedy for the plaintiff.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
