Lidl to take Tesco to court over logo battle

Supermarket rivals Lidl and Tesco are set to face off in court after the German budget retailer claimed the ‘Big Four’ grocer is using the background of its trademarked logo to promote its Clubcard discounts.

Lidl has said its background, a blue square containing a yellow circle with a thin red line, is a “wordless trademark” and is seeking to ban Tesco from using the similar background on its ‘Clubcard prices’ signs at its stores.

A pre-trial hearing has already taken place at the London High Court where Lidl put forward results from a survey where members of the public were shown the background without Lidl branding and were asked to identify its association. It said “numerous responses” identified the background as connected to Lidl.

At the trial, Tesco attempted to have the survey evidence ruled inadmissible after claiming the survey utilised leading questions, however Mrs Justice Joanna Smith ruled against the claim.

The case will go forward to trial at a later date.

According to reports Justice Smith went on to say that Tesco’s estimated costs to trial amount to £1,185,976, while Lidl’s amount to £1,170,244.