On 19 April 2023, the High Court held that Tesco’s use of its Clubcard sign (shown below) constituted trademark infringement and passing off of Lidl’s logo as it misled shoppers into thinking that products offered under the Clubcard scheme were being offered at the same or lower prices as those in Lidl.
Additionally, the Court held that Lidl’s logo was copied during the design process, so Tesco was also liable for copyright infringement.
As a result, Tesco may now have to stop using the blue and yellow logo to promote its Clubcard loyalty scheme.
The key questions the Court had to consider in this case were:
- Did Tesco’s ‘Clubcard Prices’ logo infringe on Lidl’s brand logo, as both logos appeared as text in a yellow circle on a blue background?
- Are consumers reminded of Lidl when shopping at Tesco with their Clubcard?
- Was Lidl’s trade mark of a yellow circle on a blue background (without the Lidl text) registered in bad faith?