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BERLIN (AP) — Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli AG has won the latest round in its battle of the bears against Germany's Haribo GmbH.
A Cologne appeals court ruled Friday that the Swiss company's gold-foil wrapped chocolate teddy doesn't violate Haribo's copyrighted "Gold Bear" name for its gummy bears.
Haribo successfully argued in 2012 that the Lindt product was in effect a pictorial representation of its trademark and that consumers would mistake it for one of their products. But the Cologne appeals court overturned that Friday, saying that the Lindt chocolate bear was clearly marked with the "Lindt" logo and stamped "Lindt Teddy."
Judges said their ruling can be appealed further to a federal court, in particular to address the question of whether a three-dimensional design can violate copyrighted words.
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