Cadbury wins court battle over the colour purple

BIRMINGHAM-based confectioner Cadbury has won a legal battle against one of its bitter rivals for the exclusive rights to use purple packaging for its best-selling Dairy Milk brand.

Swiss-based group Nestlé had been trying for the past four years to stop the Bournville firm from gaining the exclusive rights for the colour.

Cadbury, now owned by US food giant Kraft, said its right to use the shade of purple known as Pantone 2685C dated back to 1914 when it first produced the iconic chocolate bar. It had trademarked the Pantone shade in 2008.

However, Nestlé was not satisfied and had mounted a trade mark application challenge claiming Cadbury had no rights to exclusive use of a particular colour.

Following a hearing in the High Court in London Judge Colin Birss ruled that the distinctive shade had become synonymous in the public’s mind with the Cadbury product.

However, the ruling does not extend to boxes of chocolates, other products such as white or dark chocolate, chocolate cakes or assortments, meaning Nestlé is still free to use the colour in products such as Quality Street.